Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
by Perhentian.en
Summary: Hermione had grown quite used to help Harry each time her friend managed to end up in some impossible situation, and this even if the war with Voldemort had been over for a long time. But when Harry, faced with the destruction of the magical world, decides to throw his friends back in time, Hermione is appalled. And what about this reckless plan of his to somehow use Voldemort?
1. Prologue

Hi everyone, and welcome to this fanfiction.

As the prologue is setting the context, I won't go in any details here. Just be aware that this story is canon-based, and that it's a Voldemort / Hermione with an important part also dedicated to Harry, Ron and Ginny.

For those who had read my previous story, this one is more on the adventure / humor side, and not so much on the angsty one as was "A Journey To Hell".

I'll probably be posting each week on Thursdays.

Please note that English is not my mother tongue, so there can be some mistakes I apologize for. I would gladly correct them if you point them out.

For information this story also exists in French under the name "De Charybde en Scylla" on the Perhentian account, where you can also find my favourite stories and among them a lot of LV/HG or LV/HP that have inspired me.

Of course, Harry Potter is J. K. Rowling's property, and only the story is mine.

I hope you will enjoy this fanfiction, and I would like to thank in advance the readers who will be kind enough to leave a review.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Prologue - October 31st 2040**

There was no doubt for Harry that Halloween, or Samhain as it was called by the most conceited wizards, was a bad day.

First the death of his parents, the starting point of a decade of misery with the Dursley. Then the troll his first year at Hogwarts, although it allowed him to start this wonderful friendship with Ron and Hermione. Then, there had been the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets his second year, and this event was clearly not a good one. Wait… it still led to the destruction of one of Voldemort's Horcruxes now that he was thinking about it.

Then, the year after, Sirius Black had attacked the Fat Lady's portrait on Halloween's night. And if Harry now knew that he had not been the target of the Azkaban escapee, he had still been quite scared the day it had happened. The next year, he had been nominated as the fourth champion of that damned Triwizard Tournament, leading straight to the death of Cedric Diggory and Voldemort's resurrection. That one had definitely not been a good Halloween night. Nothing positive at all about it.

And his bad luck had not ended with the fall of Voldemort, of course not. Ginny had been seriously injured during a Quidditch match on the thirty-first of October 2004 when she had just started back after her maternity leave for James. She had definitely stopped soon after that, although it was probably more to prepare for Albus' birth than because of this accident.

It was also on Halloween that he had learned several years later that Draco Malfoy had been appointed as the magical ambassador for Britain at the International Confederation of Wizards. True, at that time he had had a quite cordial relationship with the Slytherin, but it still was a proof that Halloween had never been a good day for him.

And this Halloween night, on the thirty-first of October 2040 was far worse than anything he had ever experienced before. It was not only his life that was in danger but also those of his family, his friends, his acquaintances. For several years now, the wizarding population had been fighting desperately against the annihilation of their world. And it seemed that today was the last day of their existence.

An intense feeling of frustration overwhelmed Harry. They had seen the signs of this catastrophe far too late to counter it effectively. And even when the Ministry Unspeakables had finally confirmed that the threat was serious, it had taken months for the various magical governments to react appropriately and to cooperate. And a few more months had been needed for their cooperation to be effective.

But even so, there were not enough wizards left to try to counter the catastrophe. Between Grindelwald who had decimated part of eastern Europe, and Voldemort who had done the same in the United Kingdom, the European wizarding population was still struggling to recover. And as a magical war had also broken out between Japan, China and the United States around the years two thousand and thirty, it was not better in the other parts of the world. And hence, the four most powerful magical regions were far less populated than they should have been.

Representatives of all the countries had arrived a few days ago in Wales to attempt to confine the magical source that threatened to destroy their world. More people than Harry had hoped for, but it was obviously still not enough. Around him, most of wizards were already dead, swept away by the source's raw power. As for the team of experts who had been designated to seal the source, it had been completely decimated a few minutes earlier.

Harry had done everything he could to protect them, leading the international team of aurors deployed on site. He had trained these aurors for months, rehearsing as much as possible all the tactics to protect the Curse-Breakers and the Unspeakables while they worked. But there was hardly anyone left from the aurors either…

Only Harry's closest friends were still standing, not so far away from Harry, and the situation was too dire to try to set up any coordination between them. They were not even trying anymore to seal the source, only casting spells to protect their lives.

"Harry!"

Harry noticed a huge rock flying towards him and immediately cast a spell reducing it to dust. Around him chaos was raging. He could hardly see Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna who were also doing their best a few meters from him. Even today they were just as close friends as forty-two years ago during the Battle of Hogwarts, and that was the only thing that was currently warning is heart.

His wife Ginny, still as beautiful as ever, was casting her spells with impressive speed, and Harry took a second to deflect a projectile coming towards her. The magical hurricane around them was becoming more and more powerful, more and more unstable, and Harry's anger intensified. He knew that his children were also fighting on one of the other sides. His children, his nephews and nieces, his other friends, his in-laws, and all his acquaintances. If they were not already dead, corpses among all the corpses strewing the ground around him. The pain that engulfed Harry at this thought made him grip his holly wand tighter.

He needed to stay focussed and fight until the very end. He had not fought so hard against Voldemort to let the world he had built be destroyed by a stupid magical eruption, never mind what were the technical names Hermione kept giving the phenomenon to try to categorize it. It was too unfair. He needed to find a way to stop this.

"We are losing!" he heard Hermione scream.

"Shut up and make us win!" Ron replied.

Hermione did not even glare at Ron, which was a clear indication about how serious the situation was. It had taken twenty years of marriage, two children, and fifteen years of divorce to make Ron no longer feel diminished by Hermione's intelligence, and to make Hermione finally take Ron's remarks with humour. But now it was unfortunately not humour, and Harry saw his friend increase her efforts to stop the source.

However, if Hermione had said that they were losing, it was probably true. After all, she was the one who had lead all the researches about the magical source, pushing as far as possible the known limits of magic. She had granted the magical world more time than they should have had in the beginning, but still not enough it seemed.

"Harry, Ron, get closer," Ginny asked.

Her flaming red hair seemed to be dancing all around her.

"We cannot give up on Neville and Luna," Harry retorted, not moving one bit.

They were distributed uniformly across the magical source to try to contain its power, and if he moved he would endanger his other friends. And Harry refused to give up on anyone. He glanced anxiously to his left, where Neville and Luna were. There seemed to be a lot of magical perturbations around them, and they were visibly struggling to hold their ground. Harry joined his shield to theirs to lend them a hand.

"Watch out!" Ron shouted.

A huge crack appeared on the impressive shied they had put in place around the magical source, and it suddenly collapsed just to Harry's left. Harry avoided the collision by dodging to the right side, and found himself de facto closer to Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

Then he heard Ginny heartbroken scream. Harry darted his gaze to the place of the disaster, hoping to see Neville get up with his usual quiet confidence, and Luna reappear in an airy movement.

But they did not, and Harry felt his heart shatter in pieces. Not Neville and Luna. They had survived the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. They had survived the Battle of Hogwarts. They both had kids, even grandchildren for Neville. They could not die now, killed by a stupid magical source, without him being able to do anything.

Harry tensed with fury. The last time he had felt so helpless, it had been when he had faced Voldemort, and he had hoped that sensation would be behind him forever. He had wanted everyone to live long and peaceful lives. That was what had motivated his Auror career each day of his adult life.

"Expulso!" he cast on a debris flying towards them.

"Confringo!" added Ron beside him.

Harry heard Hermione and Ginny mutually chant a spell in what seemed to be ancient Greek. Voldemort had ruined part of his Hogwart's years, and he had then been so taken by his auror job that he had never really had the time to take a look at advanced charms. He regretted of course not to be able to help Hermione and Ginny, but right now he could not change a thing about it. So with Ron they just focussed on protecting their friends while they were trying to consolidate the shield around the source.

He could barely follow their wand movements, and after a while even Ginny gave up, leaving Hermione alone, and the redhead ended-up joining Harry and Ron to protect Hermione. But Hermione was struggling. Harry noticed the sweat on his friend's face, the rigidity of her posture, her extreme concentration. Harry was beginning to realize that the enemy they were fighting against was definitely too powerful for them. That their struggle was hopeless.

Despite all Hermione's efforts, more and more magical explosions occurred around them, and Harry, Ron and Ginny began to struggle to defend the group. Ginny's left shoulder was left bleeding a few moments later. Afterwards it was Ron who cursed loudly after an impact on his knee. They were still casting spells as fast as they could, but it was not enough.

Then, a rock hit Hermione, and the witch was thrown to the ground, losing for a moment the grip she had on her spell. The power oozing from the magical source seemed to quiver with excitement as if it was alive, and an impressive roar was heard. The trees around them were torn from the ground, dozens of lightning bolts hit the ground, and a Fiendfyre burned the grass all around the magical source. But Hermione managed to start casting her spells again, and the various phenomena calmed down slightly.

But it was a short relief, as soon there was a new explosion, sending debris right in their direction. Harry extended his shield to cover Ginny, who was holding another shield against the Fiendfyre all around them. He noticed the lightning bolt too late. He knew then with a strange lucidity that he would not be able to avoid it, that it would be his end, that he was going to die. He had barely had the time to think with grief that he would abandon his friends and family at the worst possible moment before closing instinctively his eyes.

And to reopen them a few seconds later, not understanding why he had not felt any pain. The lightning bolt was a few inches from his face, completely frozen, and Harry blinked stupidly, before regaining his senses and removing himself from its trajectory, his wand pointed in front of him. But what he found around him was even more disturbing. Everything was frozen. He could see Ginny, Ron and Hermione immobilized in action. Debris hanging in the open air. And even a purple haze coming out of the Hermione's wand.

Turning on himself, he scanned his surroundings, looking for what could be the source of this strange situation. He turned several times before suddenly being faced with a young woman dressed all in black, long black hair cascading over her shoulders, who was looking at him with a pinched expression. Only his many years as an auror prevented Harry from jumping at her sudden appearance.

"Stupefy," he cast.

But nothing came out of his wand and the expression of the young woman became even more pinched.

"Harry Potter," she said in a voice that sounded oddly unnatural .

"This place is dangerous madam, please leave immediately," Harry answered, slightly unnerved.

The young woman did not move and Harry frowned. He clearly had more urgent things to do than to chat with a stranger. His friends were dying. Everyone was dying. He glanced anxiously at the magical source, but even the source seemed to have frozen. His grip on his wand strengthened. If the young woman was linked to this froze, she must be incredibly powerful. And he still had no idea what she was doing there. He was going to ask her to leave again when she spoke.

"I came to grant you your wish, as obligated by my three hallows, before sending you back among the livings," the young woman answered, her tone slightly trailing.

Harry looked at her as if she was insane.

"Your three hallows?" he asked, dumbfounded.

She just nodded curtly and Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Wait, the Deathly Hallows? You're Death?"

He was perplexed. He knew that one should not trust appearances, but was not Death supposed to be a sort of imposing skeleton holding a scythe? Or any other terrifying appearance? Death burst into a strange laughter that made him shiver.

"I can if you wish," she said simply .

The next moment an immense skeleton was hovering before him, dressed in a cloak similar to the one of the Dementors, and holding a scythe which looked particularly sharp. Even the air around seemed to have suddenly gotten colder.

"But I'd rather use this appearance," she said, turning again to a young woman. "At least this way no one screams when I appear. Although this doesn't change anything to their fate."

Harry cleared his throat, not really knowing what to say for a moment. The whole situation felt surreal, as if he had been drugged and was hallucinating. The Deathly Hallows were powerful artefacts, Harry could not deny it, but he had never thought they were really coming from Death itself. It was supposed to be a legend, a mere children story, nothing more.

"I don't have the hallows anymore," Harry finally answered.

Truth be told he was at a loss about what to say, still not understanding how everything could be linked. Of the three hallows, he had put the Elder Wand back in Dumbledore's grave, left the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest, and given the Invisibility Cloak to his son James.

"It's not important. Since the exact moment you have possessed the three of them, you've been the Master of Death."

Death had pronounced the word _master_ quite disdainfully, but Harry ignored it, trying to understand the ins and outs of that Master of Death thing. He also wondered briefly why Death seemed in such a brittle mood, before remembering that according to the tale of the three brothers the Deathly Hallows had been somehow extorted from Death.

"So what do you wish for?" Death asked again. "I cannot afford to waste too much time today."

She gestured to the mess all around them and Harry shivered. It was obvious that this was the end, that they had lost. He tried to think of the best possible wish, regretting that he could not ask his friends for help. Hermione would have been able to tell him how powerful Death exactly was, and what could be done. Ron could have helped greatly with his tactician mind always analysing all the possible scenarios. Ginny would have been the sneaky one, taking advantage of everything. But none of them was with him, and Harry could only improvise…

"I wish for this disaster not to happen," he said.

"Ah, nope," Death answered almost joyfully. "Not possible, it's against the rules. The wish must concern you. Incredible wealth, immortality, et cetera."

Incredible wealth was ridiculous. And immortality had no appeal for Harry. He had never really wanted it, and his life would not have any sense if he would be left to leave it alone.

"You won't be alone you know. This catastrophe, like all the others, will not destroy the entire population. In hundreds of years, a new society will rise again. It's not so bad."

It was the first time Death had taken an almost friendly tone to speak to him, but that did not change the situation. All that mattered to Harry would be destroyed today. And never to be able to die? It seemed to him quite unhealthy in fact. Not natural. It was something Voldemort had pursued all his life and that had only lead him to madness, and even his own death.

"I don't want to be immortal," Harry said slowly.

Death glare was quite telling, but Harry needed some time to think. He glanced at Hermione, exhausted but still struggling with a stubbornness worthy of the lioness she was. Then his gaze wandered to Ron, his closest friend in the best and the worst moments, and next to Ginny, the woman who had made him happy beyond all his hopes. All soon victims of this catastrophe that they had not been able to stop in time.

And finally he had his wish.

"Would it be possible to go back in time?" he asked.

They could change things. Have more time to think.

"No further than the moment you acquired the first of my hallows," Death answered in an even tone.

Christmas 1991. The moment Dumbledore had offered him the Invisibility Cloak. He would be able to prevent the second war against Voldemort and the death of too much people. And he would be able to better prepare for this stupid catastrophe which would arrive decades later.

"That's not supposed to be so complicated Harry Potter," Death said impatiently.

Harry glared at her. Of course it was simple for her. Few more or few less mortals would not change anything for Death…

"Why are you in such hurry? You have frozen everything around us, including time," Harry pointed out.

"I'd rather not spend too much of my time with you."

Her look was a dead giveaway that she loathed the idea of him having collected her three hallows. Or perhaps she simply hated all human beings.

"Will I keep my memories if I go back in time?" he asked as a precaution.

The three brothers tale had taught him that Death's gifts were usually more a curse than a blessing.

"Yes. And now tell me your wish."

Her face was less and less welcoming - if it had ever been so before - and Harry noticed that being the Master of Death was visibly not a good way to have Death at his beck and call.

"Your. Wish."

This time the air seemed to crystalized all around them and the temperature dropped suddenly far below zero. Harry braced himself.

"My wish is to go back in time, when I acquired the first of your Hallows, w…"

"Granted," Death validated with boredom .

"...ith them!" Harry finished, pointing at his friends.

Death face morphed into a scandalized expression, probably shocked by what was an infringement of the rules, but the next moment everything seemed to melt around Harry, including Death.

Harry had barely the time to think that if his plan really worked, Hermione would kill him with her bare hands, before finally losing consciousness.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter will be posted in one week.


	2. Chapter 1

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the reviews, favs, and follows!

I hope you'll like this chapter.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 1 - July 1987 **

Hermione nervously fiddled with her dress and felt her heart begin to beat faster as she looked at the sign announcing "_Privet Drive_". If she was wrong, the consequences would be catastrophic. And she was sure to be a least partially wrong, because she had yet to understand fully how she had ended up there in the first place. There being her own younger-self.

But Hermione had come to the conclusion that the only person who could confirm or refute her assumptions was a certain Harry James Potter. Her lips thinned at the thought of her friend. It had been six years since the last time she had seen him, and her anger was not fading. Every day since she had opened her eyes in her two years old body on the 31st of October 1981, she had brooded over what had happened.

And among all her theories, the most likely led indisputably to Harry due to the date. Or to Voldemort, but Hermione absolutely refused to think of the catastrophe that it would be if Voldemort had somehow managed to get a new chance.

That was why she currently was not so far from the Dursley's home, hesitating to approach further, for fear of destroying by this action the spatiotemporal coherence of the whole universe. But all she knew about time-travel had absolutely nothing explaining how she could have waken-up in her two years old body fifty-nine years in the past, with all the memories of the sixty-one years she had previously lived.

Finally, Hermione cautiously approached the number 4 of the street. She had been thinking for days about how to get to Harry and talk to him out of reach of his horrible adoptive family. But luck seemed to be on her side, as she spotted Harry trimming the hedge in front of the house, with no trace of his cousin, aunt, or atrocious uncle .

She slowly moved closer, stopping just a short distance from him. He looked so young, in this body that would soon celebrate its seventh year. Thin, frail even, with his black hair as unruly as ever.

"Harry?" she called, her voice slightly uncertain.

The head of the young boy snapped up and his piercing gaze darted towards her. Then he recognized her and his jaw dropped.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed.

He jumped from behind the hedge, and rushed to her as a smile lit up his face. She had no time to react that he was already wrapping his arms around her, squeezing her with unsuspected strength while laughing .

"I'm so, so happy to see you!" he whispered.

He then kissed her on both cheeks, before letting go of her. Relief had first overwhelmed Hermione. She was not alone anymore in this situation. She would have at least some answers soon. And her more frightening theories were void.

But now that Harry's reaction had set her mind at rest, she felt her exasperation of the last six years take over. The first very confusing moments. The hours of uncertainty. The exasperation of having to play the role of a child when she was actually older than her parents. And the fear she had felt each day for not knowing what had happened to her friends and her children, to all the wizards who had been struggling with the magical source when she had suddenly disappeared.

"Harry James Potter," she began, carefully separating each word.

She noticed with satisfaction Harry's smile vanishing, but to her utmost aggravation it only gave way to Harry's joyous laugh.

"I had forgotten how your hair grew wild when you were angry," Harry said.

Hermione glared at him and decided to ignore his comment completely.

"Care to explain why I suddenly passed from a Fluctuant Magical Zone to the arms of my mother, back to my two years old body? Abandoning behind me not only my friends, my children and my grandchildren, but also all the other people who were counting on us? Endangering the spatiotemporal coherence of our whole world?"

"Calm down Hermione," Harry interrupted her in a slightly more serious tone. "We cannot talk of those things here. Petunia is in the kitchen and Dudley in the living room, and they can go out at any time."

Hermione looked quickly at Harry's house, but no one seemed to be observing them right now.

"Then find me a place where I can vent as much as I want," she said bossily.

Another dazzling smile illuminated Harry's features, and Hermione could not help but smile back. Harry dragged her with him inside the Dursley's garden, and then to the shed in the back. They slipped into it and seated themselves carefully on two buckets turned upside down .

"Your aunt isn't going to realize that you're not trimming the hedge?" Hermione asked with concern.

Harry had never been very talkative about his life with the Dursley, but Hermione had soon realized that it was quite far from pleasant. Harry had not been an abused child, no, but he had without a doubt been a neglected one. And despite Hermione's desire to punch him for this stupid situation he had initiated, she did not really want to cause any problem to her friend.

"She won't care. I'm gardening because it kind of distracts me. Few parlour tricks here and there when they were despicable have kept my family at bay. They'd rather ignore me than ask anything of me."

Hermione looked at him with an horrified look. Harry was such a reckless idiot sometimes!

"But, but, the Trace?" she stammered. "You're not Muggleborn, you must have the Trace, don't you?"

She had been outraged when right after giving birth to her daughter Rose in St. Mungo's, the mediwitches had placed the ministerial Trace on her baby. She herself had not been subjected to it until McGonagall had come to tell her she was a witch when she had been eleven. Ron had then explained to her that for all wizarding children, the spell was placed at birth in order to find them more easily in case they get lost and perform accidental magic. She remembered having grumbled that it was mainly to be able to control the population that the ministry was doing that, and Ron had admitted she was probably right.

"I have the Trace," Harry confirmed. "But you know very well Hermione that the Trace doesn't react to the weaker manifestations of magical activity, and I'm crafty enough to scare the Dursley's without much. Don't worry, the ministry has never come here."

Hermione sighed. She could not really blame Harry for trying to improve his living conditions with the Dursley. Instead, she focussed on her reason to be there in the first place.

"How the hell did you think it was a good idea to go back in time Harry! It's frighteningly dangerous! Horrible things happen to people who meddle with time, you know that! What if we fail this time to destroy Voldemort for example?"

Harry face reddened slightly from embarrassment. Had her friend really not thought about that when, by some means she still cannot comprehend, he had decided to trigger this time travelling folly?

"Why do you think it was me?" Harry asked with a curious expression.

"It's my most plausible hypothesis. Going back to the 31st of October 1981? Not a lot of suspects here. And you're the only person I know who have gathered all the Deathly Hallows. But what disturbs me the most is why I am also back."

Harry looked for a moment as if he wanted to hug her again, but a warning look from Hermione stopped him and he just giggled.

"You're right, as always. All of this has to do with the Deathly Hallows, and a wish at the time of my death. I didn't really have much time to think to be honest. Death was not happy to see me, and she's quite terrifying. So I've asked for us to go back in time, even though I was thinking that we would come back in 1991 during Christmas time."

"In 1991 during Christmas? Why?"

"That's when Dumbledore gave me the Cloak, the first Christmas I spent at Hogwarts. I thought it was then that I mastered the first hallow. But obviously it was stupid, since I became the true owner of the Cloak the moment my father died."

Hermione looked aghast and she felt her heart sank in her chest.

"You're saying that you came back right when Voldemort was killing your mother?"

She leaned over to check that Harry's scar was still in place on her friend's forehead .

"Stop worrying Hermione, I haven't changed what happened," Harry said bitterly. "Mainly because I wasn't able to… But my mother's dead, Voldemort has been reduced to his spectral self, and I have a fucking Horcrux in my scar."

Hermione pulled back abruptly, embarrassed by her reaction.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I guess it has been quite hard to go through it. Again."

Harry nodded slowly , and a faint smile spread his lips.

"I was in a terrible mood for several weeks after that. To see my mother, right in front of me, and not being able to save her... But I calmed down at some point. Who knows what would have happened if Voldemort had not been defeated that night? The world might already be completely destroyed."

They stayed silent for a moment, and Hermione reviewed everything Harry had said.

"You said _us_," she pointed out after a moment. "Is it just the both of us, or have you brought even more people back?"

"Ginny and Ron."

Hermione shook her head disapprovingly. She was glad to know that her closest friends were there. But what Harry had done was frighteningly dangerous. Far more dangerous than everything he had done before, and destiny had always had a thing for Harry Potter and unbelievable disasters.

They were going to change the timeline. Irremediably. They were already changing it… Even if they tried not to change anything, they would not be able to re-play perfectly their lives. Her children would never be born. No Rose, no Hugo, as Ron and herself will not be in a relationship this time. And she knew that even if they tried to bring Rose and Hugo to life, they would not succeed. What were the odds indeed for them to procreate at the exact same time? To give birth to the exact same person?

Hermione knew the moment she noticed that she had been thrown back in time that she had lost her children and grandchildren forever. And all the children of her friends and acquaintances also. A whole generation that would not see the day, or at least not exactly the same people. Perhaps not even close. Because she knew that Harry would never be able to stay idle in front of this wonderful opportunity to change everything.

"I suppose that if I try to convince you that it is absolutely necessary not to change anything, it will be vain?" Hermione said in a disillusioned tone.

"I came back to change things Hermione," Harry answered softly. "You said it yourself that day, we were losing. I want to prevent that from happening again Hermione. I want to prevent this magical source to kill everyone. Such a disaster must not happen."

His eyes were shining with determination, and for one moment Hermione felt like she had in front of her the strong Auror leader Harry had become, instead of the frail little boy he currently was.

"You know Harry, I don't know if we _can_ change the timeline. Maybe this disaster will occur despite all our efforts. A little later, in another place, but maybe it will happen anyway."

"Or maybe, we will finally be able to change everything, to protect those we love, and to secure the future of the world. We cannot let this opportunity go."

Hermione could not help feeling particularly pessimistic about Harry's point of view. They had not managed to understand why Wales' magical source had become unstable in the first place, as it was normally impossible. None of the other six sources had ever done something similar. So she had no certitudes that this time they would manage to understand how to counter the phenomenon…

But Hermione had learnt long ago that when Harry had an idea in mind, he would try until the end. And she had to admit, even if it was with reluctance, that most of the times his ideas turned out to be ultimately fruitful.

"What was your plan by coming back in time?" she finally asked.

"Honestly Hermione? Do I look like I could have formed a plan in the short minute I was reluctantly granted to come up with a wish? I've done what I thought was the best thing to do, letting the burden of thinking about a plan to my future self."

"You've had almost six years to think now," Hermione pushed.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, messing it even more, and Hermione looked at him suspiciously. She knew her friend well. Enough to know that he was not comfortable right now.

"Harry."

Harry let out a resigned sigh .

"I don't really have a plan Hermione. Ideas yes. Plenty of them. But are they the right ones? I don't know."

It was really strange to see this boy so young chat with all the seriousness of an adult. But for him it was probably equally strange to see her in her younger body. With a movement of her hand Hermione encouraged him to continue.

"The most obvious idea is to try to see if it is possible to stabilize more securely the source. After all, we have nearly fifty years to go before these more and more violent eruptions start occurring."

"If it is not our research about the magical source that triggers the magical instability."

Harry stared at her until she shrugged, admitting that it would be a little far-fetched .

"My second idea is to save as many wizards as possible. Prevent the second war against Voldemort. Prevent the clash of the Pacific. But then, even if we do our best, there is always a risk that it would trigger something else, isn't there?"

"Indeed," Hermione agreed. "If we save everyone, perhaps we will save the father of the next Dark Lord. Or we will unleash another, even more destructive war."

"That won't stop me from trying," Harry promised. "But I guess you will not contradict me if I tell you that even if we save as many people as possible we would not be sure to be overpower the source."

Hermione quickly estimated how many wizards would be alive if there was no war at all in the coming decades, and reconciled that with what she knew of the magical source power.

"Indeed," she ended up validating. "There is no certainty that there would be enough people anyway. In fact, the number is not really the issue here. What would have really helped would have been more very powerful wizards, others like yourself Harry, or like Dumbledore."

"What would have really helped would have been a brilliant mind like yours Hermione, with an access to all the necessary information."

Hermione narrowed her eyes warily. Harry looked at her for a moment before slightly lowering his gaze and running a hand through his hair. Again.

"What's your plan Harry?" she asked very slowly .

"You said yourself that one of the only person that seems to have studied the magical sources was Salazar Slytherin, didn't you?"

Hermione did not like where he was going. Not at all. When she had discovered in a treaty about theoretical magic that the former founder of Hogwarts had supposedly spent some time working on magical sources Harry, Ron, Ginny and herself had done everything to try to recover the founder's books, all missing since years at best, centuries at worst. They had even gone back to the Chamber of Secrets, Harry having fortunately kept his ability to speak Parseltongue.

But they had found nothing on the empty shelves. No books, no scrolls, nothing. They had deduced that Voldemort had had to take everything with him when he had left Hogwarts. Or perhaps he had done it the day he had come to ask Dumbledore to give him the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. The four friends had searched all the places in which Voldemort could have stored these books. Malfoy Manor. Riddle Manor. And even the ruins of the old Slytherin Castle.

It was in the castle that they had finally found almost by chance a series of hidden rooms, including one containing the most fabulous library Hermione had ever seen. Huge and full of books that seemed very rare. And all protected, in addition to other more classic protections, by some blood magic that they had been unable to circumvent.

She was suddenly afraid to know what Harry wanted to do.

"Harry, I don't think it's a good idea," she said cautiously.

"I'm not sure either," Harry sighed. "But if we can get a few drops of _his_ blood, we will be able to access all these books. And maybe finally find out how to stabilize the source."

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think about all the possible implications of Harry's plan, most of them making her shudder.

"Are you aware Harry, that in order to get a drop of Voldemort's blood, we'll have to give him his body back? Put him back in a position of power, when we could just destroy all his Horcruxes and him before he harms anyone?"

There was still the problem of the Horcrux in Harry's scar of course, which would probably take them years to resolve, but Hermione put it aside for the moment. Harry looked at her sadly before answering her.

"I know Hermione. Do you really think I'm not dying to do just that? To simply Apparate in the corner of Albania where he's currently hiding to kill him after taking care of Horcruxes? When I watched him kill my parents not six years ago? When I know that he's responsible for the deaths of many people I cared about? But if there is any chance for these books to contain something that can help us, we need to gain access to them."

He had risen saying that, and was pacing in the small garden shed, with that serious look that was always his when faced with important decisions.

"These books may be useless in the end," Hermione pointed out.

"But if we don't try, we're almost sure to see the world be destroyed again in fifty years," Harry answered.

He was unfortunately right.

"There is always a risk that this time Voldemort will win, and the world will be tore apart in a lot less than fifty years," Hermione said.

"Not if we get all his Horcruxes and we destroy them before he even returns."

Hermione got up right in front of Harry, stopping his pacing. She was suddenly feeling very tired.

"It's extremely dangerous, Harry," she said. "Voldemort was insane, but far from stupid. I doubt we can resurrect him, get his blood, get the books, and then simply kill him. Far too many things in this plan can go wrong. Will go wrong."

But Harry seemed determined, and Hermione felt slightly desperate. They were not just going to play with the timeline, they were going to try to change everything. For better or for worse, she had no idea.

"If we really do that," she said cautiously, "we'll have to think carefully about what we do with the Horcruxes and when."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"We might need them to resurrect him, and the destruction of a Horcrux is not something to be taken lightly. I will have to research the subject."

Harry nodded.

"I need to go before my absence become too suspicious Hermione. Do you think you could find us some wands and a way to communicate all the four together?"

"I could, but the money is going to be a problem," she said .

Of course she could technically steal some Muggle money from her parents – even if she did not want too –, but she could never change it into galleons without going through the goblins and that was going to draw some unwanted attention on her.

"Ah, of course, of course," Harry said.

He rummaged through one of his pockets and pulled out a very magical purse, startling Hermione. He plunged his hand into it, and withdrew several handfuls of galleons, which he placed on the table.

"Where did you get that?" Hermione asked.

"It's my mother's purse. I got it right after... after... well, after you know what," Harry replied. "It has a direct access to the Potter family vault."

Hermione smiled appreciatively. It was quite brilliant to have thought to take this purse, which recognized Harry as a Potter, and thus left him free access to his family vault, which was surely frozen otherwise.

"Clever," she admitted. "I'll take care of the wands then."

"Will you have enough?"

Hermione nodded slowly , and even pushed half of the galleons back to Harry.

"It's even too much," she answered.

"Take everything," Harry said. "You can give some to Ron and Ginny, and you should also buy books. About the magical source. And the Horcruxes. And resurrection rituals."

Lovely readings, Hermione thought.

"Fine. I'll pay you back one day."

"Don't even think about it. Consider it a poor compensation for forcing you once more to be part of my latest crazy plan."

Hermione laughed slightly, and they both came out of the shed. Before they separated, she gently squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"Don't think for a moment that you have fooled me Harry. It's obvious that you are keeping a close watch on him with the link in your scar. Just… please be careful."

"Don't worry Hermione. I know what I'm doing."

It did not make her feel better in the slightest.

oOoOoOo

Hermione quickly took off her shoes, put them in the exact same position they were supposed to be, and collapsed on the living room couch. She checked that she had a children book somewhere near her, in case her parents returned earlier than expected from their dental office. She could not afford for them to think that finally living her alone for one afternoon was a bad idea.

Then Hermione let her head fall back on the armrest and stared desperately at the ceiling. Harry's plan was even worse than anything she could have imagined. He had completely lost his mind. And the worst part was that she kind of understood. It may indeed be their best chance against the magical source. But to voluntarily resuscitate Voldemort…

She still remembered vividly the last battle they had fought against him in Hogwarts. Harry's sacrifice. The fear that had gripped her heart that day when the army of Death Eaters had shown up to take over the castle. Even today, with all her experience, she had no desire to relive that, and no certainty that they could win.

They had been so lucky to successfully destroy all the Horcruxes without Voldemort noticing. So lucky that Voldemort had killed Harry with an Avada Kedavra, and had not just sliced his throat. So lucky that Harry actually turned out to be the real master of the Elder Wand without Voldemort knowing it.

And now, instead of taking the opportunity to end it once and for all quickly, they would instead try to resurrect themselves the greatest dark wizard of all time. Somehow, she knew that this was going to be a disaster.

oOoOoOo

AN: See you next week.


	3. Chapter 2

Hello everyone!

Thank you for the reviews and the follows and favs.

I hope you will enjoy this chapter.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 2 - July 1987 **

Hermione scanned one last time her surroundings – everything was clear – and slipped into one of the darkest alley of London. Once hidden in the shadows, her stress level increased considerably. A few meters from there was the magical world. A world she was going to enter in for the first time in years. Completely clandestinely. And worst of all, to get to the wizarding black market.

It was not a complete novelty for her of course. In her other life, Hermione had already visited the place. But it was usually rather from the governmental side. There was only one occasion when she had been there as a client. When nobody was yet believing the dangerousness of the instability of Wales magical source. She had been there searching for books, for artefacts, for anything legal or illegal that could help them.

But today she was a seven-years-old girl, without a wand, and with few ways to defend herself if anything drastic happened. All because, unlike Harry, she was not under constant supervision, and unlike Ron and Ginny, she was able to move easily in Muggle London. And of course, she was the only one not having the Trace.

It was quite fortunate that her parents were now trusting her to stay at home alone while they were working. Of course she was even more obedient and polite than before, always burying herself in a book, and trying to be left on her own as much as possible; so it made sense for her parents to expect her to behave. If they knew that she was using their trust to raid Knockturn Alley, they would probably pass out instantly, Hermione thought with amusement.

"Circumeo," she casted.

An imposing black cloak surrounded her, completely covering her face and body. The advantage of the less shiny side of the wizarding world was that no one would bother to find out who was hiding under the cloak, as long as she was paying for what she was buying. Especially if there was any chance for her to turn out to be a goblin, no one wishing to attract the ire of these creatures.

Finally ready, she stepped in a street even darker than the one in which she had been before and walked with a feint assurance into one of the dirty brick walls, the one leading directly to Knockturn Alley. Immediately a figure was on her, and Hermione jumped quickly to the side to escape the clutches of what she identified as a hag.

"Get out of my way," she said scornfully.

A touch of magic had made her voice deeper and more threatening, and the hag pulled back with a shrug, much to Hermione's relief. Though she was smart and had an extensive knowledge of magic, she did not have the raw magical power of Harry, and she was pretty much helpless without a wand.

Hermione was almost tempted to try to capture the hag, though. Because this hag was for sure positioned right at the entrance to look for potential victims. Or perhaps she even ventured into Muggle London from time to time. Surely driven by hunger, due to the horrible laws currently in place preventing her from finding a stable job while remaining free. Hermione sighed. She was not there for that.

She strove towards her destination, neither too slow nor too fast, before finally reaching the front of Yuglae Ish, a shop that would be suspended many years later for illegal resale of magical wands. She hoped that its owner was already in this type of shady business.

The shop looked closed, but it did not stop Hermione, and she pushed the door open with all the strength her little body possessed. The hinges made a horrible creaking noise, and she entered the dingy shop rubbing her ears under her hood, grumbling against the more than questionable hobby of the Knockturn Alley merchants to put up frightening settings for they shops.

"What do you want?" an unkind voice asked.

Hermione noticed a middle-aged wizard, partially covered with soot, who was staring at her from one of the corners. Perfect shady shopkeeper impersonation, Hermione noted. Quite likely to scare away those who were too coward to buy something illegal, and thus too likely to tell on the owner. But Hermione was no coward and she needed those wands, and especially the discretion that went with it, unlike the quite public setting of Ollivanders.

"Four wands," Hermione answered with pretended boredom.

The wizard's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"No less! And what makes you think that I can find you four wands?"

"This," Hermione said.

And she poured on the counter thirty galleons with a casual gesture.

"And the same sum afterwards if I find wands that suit me," she added.

She had spoken haughtily, and the wizard's gaze passed repetitively from the galleons to her. The sum was far from negligible, but not high enough to be suspicious.

"A hundred all in all," he barked.

Hermione pretended to think about his proposal. Harry had given her enough to pay five times the price and she did not really like to waste time negotiating. But it was Harry's money, so she was reluctant to squander it offhandedly, and a quick deal would be suspicious anyway.

"No way. Seventy," she said firmly.

"Ninety. No less."

"Eighty. No more."

"Eighty-five. Last price."

"All right," Hermione finally agreed.

It was a huge sum, but Hermione knew he was selling correct wands. It was sadly what had been the most criticized in this scandal related to the contraband in the years two thousands. The man then motioned for her to follow him in the back room, but Hermione remained standing where she was.

"I would rather stay here," she said.

The man shrugged, unaffected by her rudeness, and slipped into his back shop for a few minutes, before returning with a box full of old wands that did not look like much. Hermione approached slowly, and glanced at the man before rummaging in and taking out four wands that seemed better than the rest.

"I'm going to try them," she warned.

"Go ahead," the man accepted.

He was holding his own wand nonchalantly, probably believing that she was not really a danger. The fool. Hermione grabbed one of the wands in front of her. A gentle heat spread through her fingers and she smiled. It was not her wand, far from it. Neither the first nor the second, who had both served her well. But it had been six years since she had not held a wand in her hand and it had been sorely missed.

"Revelio Identita," she casted with precise movements.

The shop keeper flinched slightly, and Hermione saw him tighten his hold on his wand. He obviously had not thought her capable of magic. Or perhaps it was the spell she had used that alerted him, as it was quite a technical one, not exactly common knowledge. Hermione chuckled silently, but paid no more attention to the men and focused on the information the spell was providing her. Pear wood and Horned Serpent horn. Um, this one might suit Ron or her.

Hermione grabbed a second wand and casted the spell again. Rosewood and dragon heartstring. This one may even be an old Ollivander wand, and should suit Ginny's character. She took a third one, which turned out to be of fir wood with Kelpie hair, and she put it aside waiting to see if she could find something better.

The fourth wand seemed ok for her. Despite its rather strange composition, mangrove tree wood and Rougarou hair, the wand was quite good. It needed great precision to avoid accidents, but at least its power was satisfactory. And Hermione knew she was maniac enough to have surgical precision when she casted her spells, even the easiest ones.

She spent more time finding something suitable for Harry. Her friend needed an easy-going wand, that simply served as a conductive body for Harry's powerful magic. She ended up finding a not so horrible one, made of Willow wood and Veela hair. Hermione was hoping the sweet willow would tame the Veela hair enough for Harry to feel comfortable with the wand.

She collected the four wands, and swiftly placed fifty-five more galleons on the counter. Then she raised the wand she had chosen for herself, and successively casted four unformulated spells. A second later, she was looking like a forty years old woman with dark hair and a stern face . The shopkeeper had jumped back, and was now clearly pointing his wand at her.

"Don't panic, I'm leaving," she said.

She immediately exited the shop, leaving a befuddled shopkeeper inside. In a few seconds, the gas she had conjured up just before her transfiguration spells would take effect, and the man would keep only a very vague memory of her visit. She was feeling slightly guilty about using this kind of spell, but she could not leave any way to trace her. Anything out of the ordinary about Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger needed to remain hidden.

Not wanting to linger anymore near the shop, Hermione headed quickly to one of the potion shops. There was a reason the shopkeeper of Yuglae Ish had reacted so violently. For those who were not lucky to be born a Metamorphmagus, advanced glamour charms were usually far too complex. They were complicated to cast, but moreover, they needed a lot of focus to maintain, making them unsuitable to be used in delicate infiltration missions or real fights.

Most wizards used much simpler glamour spells, changing their appearance as little as possible to be able to master their transfiguration more easily. But Hermione needed to look like an adult witch, and that was nowhere near an easy transfiguration. Fortunately, she needed to maintain this transfiguration only few minutes, the time to buy a good amount of aging potion, the same kind as the one Fred and George had used to try to enter the Triwizard Tournament.

She had no difficulty buying it, only attracting a suspicious glance from a young Professor Snape, who was shopping in the shop she had herself chosen. But as he was casting suspicious glances at everyone, it was just a good indicator of the quality of the merchandise she was buying to have met him here. Maybe with Harry's plan they could also save the life of Severus Snape. Although the potion professor would probably rather die at the age of thirty-eight than being saved – directly or indirectly – by the son of James Potter.

As soon as she was in possession of multiple doses of the aging potion – in the future she would rather brew it herself –, Hermione took refuge in a discreet dark alcove, cancelled her glamour spells, and drank enough potion to have the appearance of her mid-twenties. Then she applied much lighter transfiguration spells, becoming a blonde girl with dull and tired eyes.

She came out of Knockturn Alley without much concern, her face not attracting a single look. She had almost forgotten how it was to go unnoticed in the magical world. Diagon Alley was filled with wizards, most of them with their children, perhaps to prepare for the start of Hogwarts, even if it was still in a month and half.

Hermione entered the stationer's shop at the same time as a family came out of it and paused slightly before recovering and finally entering. She was not supposed to know this little boy that was Oliver Wood, nor his parents. She realized immediately that it would be even worse when they will be back at Hogwarts. They would know everyone without being able to show it.

The stationer's shop was as busy as all the other shops in Diagon Alley, and Hermione hurried to find what she was looking for, four ordinary notebooks. She paid the few knuts they were worth and went to buy four bracelets in the adjacent jewelry. Then she made a small stop in a dark alley to change her appearance again. A few moments later a middle aged wizard entered Flourish and Blotts, with in his head a list of books to buy that would have scared away most wizards, and which he will most probably not find here.

oOoOoOo

Hermione tapped her foot impatiently as she was standing on the sidewalk of Privet Drive. Of course Harry was not outside this time. It would have been too easy. And alerting him magically was too risky, as was discreetly infiltrating the house. She was pretty sure that Dumbledore had put up wards warning him if anyone magical ever wanted to enter in the house without Harry's permission. Or something else of the same kind. And she did not really have the time to try to break down Dumbledore's wards. Not to mention that it would be dangerous for Harry's safety if she did.

Resigned, she raised her hand towards the bell near the front door and pushed it. She heard footsteps, and then the door opened in front of her. Petunia Dursley. Long, pinched face, large pale eyes, and rigid posture. Harry's aunt tried to crack a welcoming smile in front of the little girl on the doorstep. The result was more like a grimace.

"Hello dear, what are you looking for?" she asked.

Hermione wondered for a moment if she could cast a confusion spell discreetly enough for the Trace around Harry not to detect it, but decided otherwise. It was too much of a risk for a situation she could manage without magic.

"Good morning ma'am," she said in her most polite tone. "Can I see Harry please?"

"Harry?"

Petunia Dursley seemed both confused and furious and Hermione forced herself to smile brightly.

"Yes, Harry, ma'am. I had borrowed his notes at the end of the year and I came to give them back. I hope he had not missed them too much the past weeks?"

Petunia looked at her as if a she had two heads and Hermione had to struggle not to roll her eyes.

"I'll take it and give it back to him," Petunia finally said, extending her hand.

No, no way. Hermione needed to speak to Harry, and she would not in any way give a magical notebook to Petunia Dursley.

"Oh, but I really wanted to see Harry," Hermione said, trying to sound innocent. "But that's OK, I can come back with my parents tomorrow. They would love to meet Harry and see how he lives."

Petunia's face showed the most complete horror for a moment and Hermione refrained from casting a curse on her. She felt almost sad for her. How deeply has she suffered of not being a witch to reject so much the wizarding world and her nephew with it?

"Fine, you can come in, I'll call Harry," Petunia Dursley finally decided.

Hermione entered with relief in the house and heard Petunia shout Harry's name towards the stairs. Her friend arrived almost immediately and froze when he saw Hermione.

"Hello Harry," Hermione greeted. "I came here to give you back the notes I borrowed from you at the end of the year."

"Ah, yes, of course," Harry agreed.

He quickly descended the steps and stood near Hermione.

"We're going out aunt Petunia, so we'll not disturb you," he said with false worry.

"I want you in the house in ten minutes," Petunia said.

It could almost have been mistaken for concern.

"Thank you, ma'am," Hermione said as Harry pulled her outside.

They walked away slightly from the front door.

"Did you succeed?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Of course," Hermione replied with haughtiness.

She handed him the willow wand with a Veela hair and Harry took it eagerly in his hands.

"Does it fit?" Hermione asked.

"It should be fine," Harry answered.

"You know that you will not be able to use it here because of the Trace, don't you? You can only use it in case of emergency. "

"Yes Hermione, I know that, as usual, I won't be able to do anything."

Hermione saw Petunia watching them through the kitchen window and noticed that Harry had turned his back to her, hiding from his aunt's sight what he had in his hands. As soon as Petunia disappeared Hermione hurriedly pulled out one of the notebooks and one of the bracelets from her bag.

"This will allow us to communicate together," she said. "Repeat after me: I, Harry James Potter, accept this notebook and this bracelet."

"I, Harry James Potter, accept this notebook and this bracelet."

"Perfect. The notebook, you can write in it or speak near it. It's now connected to your magic so no one else can use it. The bracelet heats up slightly as soon as you receive a message in the notebook. See you this evening at half past eight."

"You're leaving already?" Harry asked with a hint of sadness.

Hermione glanced at the empty kitchen window, and quickly hugged Harry.

"I still have some time before my parents come back home so I'll use it to go to the Burrow. That way we will be able to communicate all together tonight."

Harry's smile was dazzling.

"You're perfect Hermione!" he said.

"And of course, you only tell me that because, as usual, I am helping you to get out of the last catastrophic situation you created."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry answered with a smug smile.

"Wait to see Ginny's reaction to your deeds before thanking me so much."

Harry turned slightly green and Hermione laughed.

oOoOoOo

Hermione smiled as she observed the Burrow from afar. She had so many good memories in this quirky but loving house. Memories of her children running in the garden with their cousins. Memories of the family's usual Sunday lunches all together. The summer picnics. The laughs and the joy. Even if her children would never be born, even if there will be no Rose and Hugo running in this garden, she would at least ensure that all the children to come would have a better future.

At least here Hermione did not need to hide her magic as around the Dursley's house. She disillusioned herself with a wand motion, and probed the wards around the Burrow. It was far from what they would be in a few years, when Harry will undoubtedly stay there for part of the holidays. With great care Hermione worked on the wards to tweak them enough to grant herself access to the Burrow.

It was a lot less easy without a suitable wand, but she still managed to do that in less than an hour. Once inside the wards she noticed Bill, Charlie, Fred and George playing Quidditch and she lost her breath when she saw Fred alive. It was painful to see him so young, so carefree, so ignorant of what the future had reserved him in another life.

She frowned, noting that Fred and George probably should not have been on a broom when they were only nine years old. Arthur had to be at work, and Molly doing some errands for Bill and Charlie to let their brothers play with them. Which suited Hermione. She scanned the rest of the garden, but there was no trace of anyone else, no Ron, no Ginny. No Percy either by the way, but the boy was probably reading a book in his room to prepare for his first year at Hogwarts.

Hermione moved quietly towards the house, whose door was fortunately wide open, and slipped inside. A glance in the living room told her that Ron and Ginny were there, playing a game of chess. There were no trace of Percy.

"Hominum Revelio," she murmured.

The most serious of the Weasley was indeed in his room. Hermione then casted a second, more complex spell to locate Wormtail, the animagus transformation allowing him to pass under the Hominum Revelio's radar. The rat was with Percy. Good.

With a smile on her face Hermione stepped right next to her two friends. Then she discreetly casted a Muffliato charm around the room. At last she cancelled the disillusionment charm. Ron and Ginny quickly moved away from her and put themselves in a defensive posture quite strange for their children bodies. Hermione saw their suspicion turn into surprise, and then pure joy.

"Hermione?" Ron said. "You're back too?"

"How did you get there?" Ginny asked.

Then both of them threw themselves on her and forcefully squeezed Hermione in their arms. Hermione laughed, happy beyond anything to have the possibility to speak again to her closest friends. This was exactly the moment her watch chose to ring, telling her that she just had enough time to go the other way before her parents came from work.

"You'll know everything quickly, but for now I must go," she said. "I just came here to give you spare wands, to use only in case of emergency of course."

"But..." Ginny started.

"You just need to know that it's Harry who brought us all here, and that everything's all right," Hermione cut her off. "I also brought something so all four of us can communicate together at any time."

Hermione gave them the wands, the notebooks and the bracelets. Ginny froze a bit as she picked up one of the black notebooks and Hermione looked at her apologetically.

"That's the best idea I've had," she said.

"As long as it works."

Hermione quickly told them how the notebooks and bracelets worked, and hugged them one last time before leaving. She had to get out of there without triggering the wards, and she did not dare to imagine her parents' panic if they ever found the house empty.

oOoOoOo

At twenty-five past eight, Hermione opened her notebook and grabbed her pen.

"_Welcome,_" she wrote.

The rest of the page stayed blank for a moment before Harry's handwriting appeared.

"_That's really well thought Hermione, thank you so much._"

"_Seems useful to have a brain, I'll probably need to try it one day,_" Ron commented.

Hermione rolled her eyes with amusement.

"_Harry, my dear Harry, I think you have some explaining awaiting you,_" Ginny said.

Hermione smirked. Ginny Weasley was the only person that can still force some sense into Harry.

oOoOoOo

AN: See you next week.


	4. Chapter 3

Hi everyone!

I hope you are enjoying the story.

Last chapter before starting Hogwarts as I plan to go quite quick until the resurrection attempt.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 3 - July 1987 - August 1991 **

It was already almost eleven pm when they finally started to discuss serious matters, previously just too happy to talk to each other again to have any wish to deal with their current situation. They were all in their own beds, having quickly let down their pens and quills, relying on Hermione's transcription spell to transcript whatever they were whispering to the notebooks.

"_So, what's the plan?_" Ron asked. "_I guess Hermione's going to tell us that we cannot change the timeline, even if it means living again through Snape, Umbridge and our failed marriage; and that you, Harry, you'll want to change everything, except I hope for your sake your marriage with my dearest sister?_"

A slight smile bloomed on Hermione's lips. They knew each other well. Almost too well. But it was true that she had spent a lot of years with Ron. They had made themselves suffer quite a lot to try to save a marriage that had been dysfunctional from the start, and it had taken them too many years to finally admit that they were better on their own.

"_I'll let Harry explain,_" Hermione said.

She honestly had no wish to try to explain Harry's plan diplomatically. Diplomacy had never been her forte. She was too focused on the facts and was lacking the typical leader charm, as Ron had said during one of their worst fights. It had hurt terribly because it was unfortunately true. She still felt a little upset about it now in fact.

"_We should resurrect Voldemort,_" Harry announced.

"_What?_" Ron exclaimed.

"_Excuse me? Are you kidding me?_" Ginny asked simultaneously.

No diplomacy then, Hermione thought, and she started to giggle uncontrollably, a giggle that was immediately retransmitted in the notebooks. She forced herself to calm down, breathing slowly, not to wake up her parents.

"_Are you all right Hermione?_" Ron asked.

Her transcription spell even managed somehow to capture Ron's sarcastic tone.

"_Yes, sorry,_" she apologized. "_Please go ahead Harry._"

It took Harry a few minutes to explain to the Weasley his strategy for accessing Voldemort's library. Ron and Ginny remained silent until Harry stopped, and it was already quite a feat.

"_And you agree with that Hermione?_" Ron asked.

For the umpteenth time in few days Hermione felt the urge to strangle Harry for dragging her into this situation. She had wished that she would not need to defend Harry's far too risky plan.

"_I'm not really comfortable with that,_" she answered. "_Too dangerous, too complicated. But I admit I fear that counting only on the extra time we now have will not be enough to stabilize the magical source._"

"_These books were our best guess at the time,_" Harry added.

There was a moment of silence before Ginny started.

"_And what will happen if we manage to get the books back, but Voldemort escapes?_" she asked worriedly. "_If he then creates new Horcruxes that we don't know? If he becomes the true master of the Elder Wand? Or if he finds another way to conquer Death?_"

Hermione lay on her bed and adjusted the blanket around her body, despite the heat of July. Ginny's theories were frightening. They were going to create a disaster to try to prevent another. Without being certain that the first one was not in the end worse than the second one.

"_We have some time to think about that you know,_" Harry said. "_None of us can do anything right now, nor in the immediate future. We will have to wait until we're in Hogwarts for that, if we decide to pursue this idea._"

"_Hermione could at least get the ring from the Gaunt's house, couldn't she?_" Ron said. "_She doesn't have the Trace._"

Hermione thought a few seconds about it, before dismissing the idea.

"_I'm not sure it's a good idea to recover it so early,_" she said. "_We don't know if Quirrell had not made a short trip to Little Hangleton when he was with Voldemort. If so, and he notices that the ring has disappeared, it will be a disaster._"

"_Um, actually, you're right,_" Ron admitted.

"_Let's take some time to think about it then, OK?_" Harry said .

There were no protests and that was proof in itself that Ron and Ginny were going to end up agreeing with Harry's plan anyway, even though they did not like it.

"_I'd like to talk about another more urgent topic tonight, as we are all here,_" Harry said. "_Pettigrew._"

oOoOoOo

Hermione had never thought too much about what had been Peter Pettigrew's life at the Burrow. She had known that the rat had been Percy's, and that he had spent the majority of his life sleeping, and that was all. While listening – reading – to Ron and Ginny she learnt that the rat lived mostly in the cage their parents had made for him, and that he was let out only from time to time when Percy let it run in the grass. Neither redheads, who had watched him from the corner of their eyes in the past years, had noticed any suspiciously human behaviour from him.

For Hermione that sounded like a quite miserable life, in line with Pettigrew's overall miserable existence. Peter Pettigrew had struggled every day to be part of the Marauders, without ever really succeeding. Then he had betrayed James and Lily. Doomed Sirius to Azkaban. And finally he had lived as a rat for the past ten years. How could anyone stoop so low? How could anyone be satisfied by such a mediocre life? Hermione could almost understand what was driving someone like Voldemort, knowledge and power, but she could not really understand what could be driving a Peter Pettigrew, who had chosen to live as a rat for the rest of his live. Perhaps it was his own twisted way to pay for his crimes…

But the one thing she had absolutely no explanation about was why, at the end of their third year, had Pettigrew rushed to find and help Voldemort. It was so out of character… Why had not he simply fled at the other end of the world, finding some refuge in Brazil or in Australia so nobody will ever find him? Even if he was not the brightest Marauder, he should have realised that fleeing, or even surrounding to the DLME, was way better than going back to Voldemort!

"_What do you want us to do with him, Harry?_" Ron asked. "_Of course, I thought of killing him as soon as I saw him again, but I figured we had to keep him alive to get Sirius released._"

"_Indeed,_" Harry agreed. "_The question is how do we manage to deliver Wormtail to the DLME, and to have Sirius' case reopened?_"

Hermione absently wrapped a lock of hair around her left hand. Although they were adults in their heads, they were still children for all the others. And they needed to keep who they really were hidden if they wanted to act as freely as they wished.

"_We have to go through Amelia Bones for the ministerial part, she's truly impartial,_" Hermione said. "_But I'm pretty sure she's not that easy to contact._"

Even though the witch had died just weeks after Voldemort's public return in their first life, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was still praising her integrity years later when Hermione started to work there.

"_What if you go directly to the DLME with the rat Hermione?_" Harry suggested.

"_Nobody will let me see Amelia Bones like that Harry. By the time they will have verified my identity – even a false one – and everything else, Pettigrew would have had the time to disappear multiple times as they would surely not believe me at first when I will say that he is an unregistered animagus._"

And they needed to take into consideration Fudge's stupidity. Wait… Was he already Minister of Magic? No, not yet. He became the Minister only in 1990 if Hermione remembered well. So it was still Millicent Bagnold who was the Minister, thankfully. Although... Hermione did not really know her to tell the truth. From what she had heard, she was less versatile than Fudge, but it was also under her government that Sirius Black had been sentenced to Azkaban without trial. Would Millicent Bagnold admit her own mistakes and try to correct them? Hermione had no idea, and it was quite frustrating.

"_I'm not saying that Sirius shouldn't be freed, but wouldn't it threaten the timeline continuity?_" Ginny asked. "_And make everything move a little too fast, especially Voldemort?_"

"_Do we know what he was doing before Quirrell?_" Ron asked. "_Why in our old life he had not acted sooner? Was it because he couldn't for one reason or another? Something linked to the Horcruxes perhaps?_"

Hermione smirked. Long after the fall of Voldemort she had researched the Horcruxes, trying to understand how they worked, and especially if anyone else could end up creating some. She found it ironic that Ron was talking about the subject now, as at the time he had clearly let her know that she was annoying him with her useless research.

"_I'm listening,_" she said coolly.

"_I know you're gloating Hermione," _Ron sighed,_ "but could you at least share with us what you know?_"

"_Not much in fact,_" Hermione admitted. "_Or at least not enough. I mostly looked at how to create them, and not really at what was happening when their creator dies."_

Hermione shivered. If she wanted to, she could create a Horcrux. She knew absolutely everything about the subject, and in theory she could do it. And just having this knowledge was a terrifying thought. But she did not regret her research, because it had at least confirmed that the process was extremely complex, limiting its use to more than accomplished wizards.

"_Do you think you can have a look on the way Horcruxes are reacting after the death of their creator then Hermione?_" Harry asked.

"_I'll have to buy some books again, but I'll take care of it in the next few days,_" Hermione agreed.

"_Wonderful,_" Ron said sarcastically.

Hermione cannot help but smile slightly.

"_Allow me to remind you all that we should stay as close as possible to the original timeline,_" Hermione said. "_We should try to change as few things as possible. If Ginny can obtain Tom Riddle's diary the same way, it's better. Likewise, if we stick to Harry's plan, resurrecting Voldemort the same day as before would be better. Beyond the spatiotemporal coherence I know you do not care about, we are less likely to trigger events that we do not control if we follow the original timeline._"

"_Very well,_" Harry agreed. "_We'll wait for your feedback Hermione to deal with Pettigrew and Sirius. Any other urgent topic?_"

Hermione reviewed in her head everything they had discussed, and all the things they were planning to do.

"_We need to strengthen our Occlumency,_" she said. "_A lot. We cannot allow Voldemort to notice that we know everything about his Horcruxes if he ever looks in our minds. And the Deathly Hallows should be even more protected. Both from Voldemort and from Dumbledore._"

After all, Dumbledore had at one point been ready to ally himself with Grindelwald to find the Deathly Hallows.

"_Why aren't we sharing what we know with Dumbledore?_" Ron asked. "_I'm not saying I completely trust him, he's still the guy who sent Harry to die, but he has the means to help us a lot._"

"_He'll never agree to try to resuscitate Voldemort to prevent a catastrophe he has not experienced himself,_" Harry answered.

It was probably pretentious, but Hermione also shared Harry's opinion. They would be better off without Dumbledore. Even if at some point it could be interesting for her to discuss the magical source issue with Hogwarts' Headmaster.

"_I quite agree,_" Ginny said. "_And he'll probably, consciously or unconsciously, hinder our actions. And by the way, do all take note that I have not yet agreed with Harry's completely ridiculous plan. This discussion is not finished._"

"_It isn't_," Harry admitted. "_But whatever we choose to do, and even if I have absolutely no desire to start practicing Occlumency again, I cannot deny that we should do it._"

The notebook then retransmitted a long sigh from Harry, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

oOoOoOo

Of course, nothing went as planned. Firstly, Hermione nearly got caught by some aurors while shopping in Knockturn Alley. She had known obviously that the shop she went to had a bad reputation. A very bad reputation. It was not Borgin & Burkes where a Lucius Malfoy could do some shopping. But she cannot be picky. Lord Voldemort had tried to destroy all the books dealing with Horcruxes during his youth and during the first war, and it was quite difficult to find books about the subject that had not been destroyed or stolen.

It was still possible to find some hints however, in books whose principal subjects were not Horcruxes, even if those were quite scarce. Very few dark arts writers knew about Horcruxes. And there were even fewer who dared to write about them. Horcruxes were even more obscure than resurrection rituals. But Hermione had not been labelled Hogwarts' most bookish bookworm for nothing: and her ability to find information in books had been legendary, and would soon be highly recognized once more.

She barely had had the time to find what she was looking for in the gloomy shelfs of the shop, when the aurors raided it. If Hermione had not lived through a war during her teens years, and if she had not regularly exercised her reflexes, she would have been arrested like all the other customers. But contrary to them, she reacted immediately, shoving the books she held in her magical bag, shrinking the bag by a quick wand movement, and then transforming into her Animagus form, a cat with hazel fur.

The next moment she jumped on one of the shelves, bypassing the aurors and coming out of the place with fluidity. She had not been particularly motivated when Harry had harassed her to try the animagus transformation with him when they were in their twenties, unlike Ginny and Ron who had been more than enthusiastic to learn it. At the time, she had considered this magic to be only some sort of parlour tricks, something not really useful. But she had in the end not regretted the time she had spent learning it, as her feline form had served her quite well on multiple occasions. It was much more discreet than Harry's lion, Ginny's hawk or Ron's bear. And it was even more discreet now that she was no longer a registered animagus.

That very evening she told her friends that she had enough material to study Horcruxes. Ginny responded by saying that Ron had better not annoy her, otherwise she would become the next Dark Lord. It had made her roll her eyes in the darkness of her childhood room.

The second thing that did not go according to plan was linked to Peter Pettigrew. How did the rat got the hint that something was amiss? That was not really clear. Maybe he had seen Ron's and Ginny's wands. Or perhaps he had managed to spy on one of their discussions despite both Weasley's precautions. But in the end, Peter Pettigrew tried to escape, tried to leave the wonderful Weasley family.

He tried it on a Sunday afternoon, when the whole family was eating outside, and while Percy had pulled him out of his cage so he could stretch his legs. Ten minutes later, Percy was whining that Scabbers had run away and was nowhere to be found. The twins were laughing, Percy was furious, and Molly, Arthur, Bill and Charlie had tried to find the rat. And, to everyone's surprise, Ron and Ginny had helped the older ones.

"_We lost Scabbers,_" Ron wrote that night.

"_He's still around the Burrow, but we don't know where exactly,_" Ginny added.

It triggered an unhealthy amount of panic. They had not really decided how to act with him yet, and Hermione had not had the time to find all the information she wanted about the Horcruxes. They spent the whole evening discussing, wondering if it was a real flight, or if the rat animagus had already had a similar behaviour, disappearing for a few days and returning later. Ron and Ginny did not know, having few memories of Scabbers' behaviour until Ron got the rat.

Their discussion was interrupted, however, when Peter Pettigrew tried to leave the territory of the Burrow. Of course he tried this in his rat form. Without stealing a wand from the Weasley, he could hardly get out of the wards surrounding the Burrow as a wizard, while most of the wards were not blocking animals and therefore animagus.

He probably had not expected the additional ward targeting animagus that Ginny had cast as soon as she had had her wand. It had made Hermione cringe when she had learned it. If anyone discovered this ward, and especially discovered that it was Ginny who had cast it, it would be catastrophic.

But Hermione had to admit that this ward proved to be very useful when it blocked Pettigrew, warning Ginny in the process. The two Weasley had dropped their notebooks, leaving Harry and Hermione completely in the dark as to what was happening.

They waited more than an hour with anguish before finally having an explanation.

Ginny's ward had stunned Pettigrew, transforming him back into a wizard. Triggering by the way the more traditional wards around the Burrow, Peter Pettigrew never having been registered as an approved visitor. Ginny and Ron had had to rush to dismantle Ginny's ward before their parents arrived. They had managed to get there just in time, but if Ginny had deactivated her ward without raising any suspicion, Molly and Arthur still stumbled on the stunned man on the edge of their domain.

Fortunately, Ron had had the presence of mind to quietly cast a confusing spell – one that was borderline dark magic – on Pettigrew, so the rat would not be able to clearly remember anything suspicious about the youngest Weasley. They had no wish for Peter Pettigrew to tell to anyone anything he could have heard them saying.

Molly and Arthur had called the aurors, of course, and Ginny and Ron had had to use all their supposed childish innocence to have the adults understand that this man looked like Scabbers. The missing finger had fortunately helped. If they had not been able to really convince the aurors, they had at least managed to persuade them that it was better to put up anti-animagus precautions just in case. Having Moody's there – and his constant paranoia – had helped quite a lot.

Then they had had no news of Peter Pettigrew for several long, and especially stressful, weeks. And if Hermione had finally found the information she was looking for about the Horcruxes, it was hardly reassuring.

It took 77 years, day to day, for a soul with a Horcrux to be able to find a body back. 38.5 years if the soul had two Horcruxes. Voldemort thought he had five, which was leading to 15.4 years. That should have led him to find a body only at the beginning of 1997. But in reality he had six Horcruxes, which reduced the waiting time to 12.8 years, corresponding to the end of the summer of 1994. That was the moment he had actually regained a semblance of body, and had returned to Riddle Manor. Yet he had not realized at that time that he had had a sixth Horcrux. He must have conceitedly thought himself more powerful than the others to be able to get a body back faster.

But nothing, however, prevented Voldemort from possessing other people, leaving an open question as to why he had not done so before meeting Quirrell. According to Harry, it was because he was currently half mad, not really managing to order his own thoughts long enough to do anything. It had been really by chance that Voldemort had crossed Quirrell's road, and possessed him. Hence, if Peter Pettigrew somehow managed to escape the DMLE and went back to Voldemort right now, that would certainly lead to a disaster.

But fortunately the ministry had worked as it was supposed to, for once, and at the beginning of October the Prophet front page was displaying in huge characters "_Peter Pettigrew was alive all along. Sirius Black found not guilty_". Most articles were about Pettigrew's animagus status, his betrayal of the Potter, and the department's blunders during Sirius Black's lack of trial. Peter Pettigrow ended up in Azkaban, with the other Death Eaters imprisoned there, in the old cell of Sirius Black.

oOoOoOo

In spring 1988, Harry Potter moved out of Privet Drive to live with his godfather Sirius Black in Grimmauld Place. This event also made the front page of the Prophet. But after spending a few months in rehabilitation at St. Mungo's, and despite Dumbledore's few attempts to bring up Lily's blood wards, Sirius Black had sought and obtained custody of his godson, much to the latter's delight.

"_I honestly don't know if it's because he thinks he has lost too much time in Azkaban, or if he would have been like this anyway, but if I was a real child I would have been just like Dudley in the end,_" Harry wrote one day. "_Last week he bought me the last Nimbus, a wardrobe that even Draco Malfoy would have not turned down, an entire library of children's books that I will never read - there is even The Tales of Beedle the Bard in there, as if I needed that -; and he also wanted to buy me an owl, but Hedwig was not there yet so I refused. So he pouted for ten minutes, before buying me half of Zonko's shop. It's amazing to see him so healthy, and so energetic!_"

Among Harry's first actions, he had quietly retrieved Slytherin's locket. Or more precisely, quietly until Kreacher noticed that the locket was missing, and began to frenetically search all the house. Harry had had to take him aside and to promise him that if he had recovered it, it was only to destroy it one day, as Regulus would have wished.

"_So you lied to Kreacher,_" Hermione pointed out.

"_I intend to destroy it one day,_" Harry answered.

"_But potentially after resurrecting Voldemort,_" Ginny said. "_But that's just a detail, isn't it?_"

Hermione had more and more suspicions that they would need to have as much Horcruxes as possible to be able to resurrect Voldemort. Using the Horcruxes seemed a lot less complicated to implement than the ritual Voldemort had himself used, and if the Horcruxes could be destroyed during the process it would even be an added bonus.

"_Is it fine for you Harry to wear the locket all the time?_" Ron asked.

"_Occlumency protects quite well from its influence in fact._"

"_Oh no. Don't say that, Hermione will be even more annoying with the subject!_"

Harry had also pushed Sirius to reconnect with Remus Lupin, and after a few months the werewolf had also come to live in Grimmauld Place. This had allowed the two men to resume their friendship, and Sirius also gradually started his auror work back, Remus looking after Harry during that time.

The vast majority of the pureblood families wanted to meet Harry, but Dumbledore, Sirius and especially Harry were in complete agreement that it was a very bad idea. Dumbledore to protect Harry from the former Death Eaters. Sirius because he had no wish to reconnect in anyway with the old pureblood families. And Harry because it would be too painful to have to play the perfect child all the time. And maybe because Hermione had half begged him to try to stick as much as possible to their original timeline.

Harry had also been given a mission of the utmost importance by Hermione, which consisted of searching the entire Black library for books about Horcruxes, resurrection rituals, and magical sources; and discreetly send them to Hermione.

oOoOoOo

It was not until Harry's ninth birthday that Ginny finally admitted - in her notebook - that she would follow Harry's plan.

"_I must admit, reluctantly, that I have not found a better idea than yours Harry. Go for Voldemort._"

In practice, Hermione had already started immersing herself in books about resurrection rituals for two years, and all of them had talked during hours of everything they should do to make this plan work.

But Ginny's validation, the last one to officially resign herself, seemed to give a new reality to their mission.

"_Don't be so depressed Hermione,_" Ron wrote. "_Think about all those books you will be able to read if we succeed!_"

Hermione just glared at the notebook.

oOoOoOo

"Hermione, could you come down one moment please?"

Her mother's voice was slightly tense, and Hermione smiled to herself. She knew very well what was going on. Because she remembered perfectly the first time she had lived this evening that had changed her life. She knew that when she would go down to the living room, she would find her two parents waiting for her with Minerva McGonagall.

"I'm coming right now mom," she answered.

Then she quickly wrote few words in her notebook.

"_I have to leave you, Minerva's in my living room._"

"_Good luck to look surprised when she'll tell you magic is real,_" Ron laughed.

"_And try not to call her Minerva, that would be weird,_" Harry added.

"_Thank you very much for the reminder that you're all going to Hogwarts without me next year,_" Ginny wrote. "_If you do not keep me in the loop of what's going on, I promise you that I will invent a permanent Bat-Bogey Hex._"

Hermione laughed slightly, and came down the stairs with a big smile on her lips. Only a few more months and they would be part of the magical world again. And she was really looking forward to see Harry and Ron on the Hogwarts Express.

oOoOoOo

AN: See you next week for Hogwarts' first year.


	5. Chapter 4

Hello everyone!

Thanks for the reviews, favs and follows :)

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 4 - September 1991 - June 1992 **

Hermione Granger looked with boredom at crowd on the platform in front of her, and sighed as she saw various parents gushing around their children. She had been waiting for at least half an hour now. She knew Ron would be late, the Weasley always were, but why were Harry and Sirius not there yet?

Hermione stroked Crookshanks absent-mindedly. When she had visited Diagon Alley with her parents, she had insisted to get a cat, to be able to recover Crookshanks at the earliest. It was done now, and as always Crookshanks was the best to appease her nervousness. That, and having her vine wand secured in the pocket of her robe, right next to her other wand.

Finally, Harry and Sirius emerged on the platform 9 ¾. For a few seconds it was as if nothing had happened. Then various parents noticed Sirius, whose face was quite well known in the wizarding world, first as a traitor and then as a victim. And after that, some glances fell on Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived. The vanquisher of Voldemort – or so they thought –. Who had almost never appeared in public before.

When Harry realized that the attention of the people around was focused on him, his eyes widened slightly under panic. Hermione laughed quietly as she remembered the stories of his trip to Diagon Alley, which had taken several long hours due to the fact that everyone had wanted to talk to him. Harry hugged Sirius very briefly and headed to the train, hoping to enter quickly into the first carriage within reach. At the exact spot where Hermione was waiting for him, having anticipated his behaviour.

"Need some help with Hedwig?" she asked softly .

Harry jumped, before smiling at her. His green eyes were shining brightly, and Hermione had a thankful thought for Sirius for buying the overpriced potion that had corrected Harry's short-sightedness. Harry handed Hedwig's cage to her and they disappeared into the carriage.

oOoOoOo

When Harry, Ron and Hermione were finally all seated in one compartment, they look at each other uncertainly for a split second. Then they all threw themselves into each other's arms, laughing uncontrollably.

"Wow, it's been way too long," Ron said.

"That we've not seen each other, or that we haven't taken the Hogwarts Express?" Harry asked.

"Both," Ron laughed. "I was such a prick the last time, sorry about that Harry. To speak about your scar and Voldemort two minutes after meeting you… you're a real bro for not kicking me out of your life at that time!"

"How could you have been so insensitive Ron?" Hermione asked reproachfully.

"You've quoted all the books he was in the first time you saw him!" Ron replied indignantly.

Hermione rolled her eyes, while Ron patted Harry's shoulder. The latter, however, was not paying attention to his friends anymore. Following his gaze, Hermione noticed Ginny standing on the platform beside her parents. The eyes of the young redhead lit up when her gaze met Harry's and Hermione looked away, feeling like an intruder between them. There was so much longing there, so much yearning to be together after all those years apart that is was nearly unbearable.

The Hogwarts Express was already starting and Hermione rummaged through her bag. She pulled out four books, all covered with a thick black cover and of quite unwelcoming aspect.

"You'll never really change Hermione," Ron commented.

"I'm reading those books because of you," Hermione answered hypocritically .

Hermione looked at the four books, picked out two, and then hesitated between starting with "_Runes of Power_" or "_Rites and Rituals from_ _Mephistopheles_". She remembered having already flipped through the first one in her previous life, without really remembering it. As for the second book, she was pretty sure that it was not the real version, which was absolutely impossible to find. But maybe it still would have some interesting insights inside...

"You should transfigure them Hermione," Harry pointed out. "I know that no one can read the title except you, but they do not look like harmless books. Especially in the hands of a first year."

Hermione pulled out her vine wand and cast several spells, transfiguring the books into Muggle novels.

"Have you managed to remove your Trace?" she asked.

Hermione had done it herself the very night McGonagall had put the Trace on her, sneaking out of her house to reached Knockturn Alley, so the important magical concentration of the place would prevent the Ministry of Magic from detecting the disappearance of the trace around her.

Harry and Ron confirmed doing it on the platform 9 ¾ just few minutes ago. Now all three would be able to freely cast magic outside of Hogwarts.

"Ah, and let me put a location jammer on you," Hermione said.

"A location jammer? Why bother?" Ron asked.

"For the Marauder's Map," Hermione answered. "In case Fred or George try to locate us… After my spell, the map will only show them where they think we are, rather than where we really are."

In a few wand movements it was done.

"Have you managed to get your own wand Ron, or did you get Charlie's?" Harry asked.

Harry had passed down a few Galleons to Ron via Hermione so the redhead could buy his own wand, but Ron winced.

"I haven't been able to shake off my mother long enough to do it. But in hindsight, Charlie's wand's not really that bad."

"I never asked the question before, but why has Charlie changed his wand?" Hermione asked.

It was quite unusual to buy a new wand without losing the first one.

"According to him, this wand was not powerful enough to tame dragons. I'm pretty sure he actually did it on purpose so I could have a wand from Ollivander. Mom would never have allowed him to give her money directly, and with Percy, the twins and myself, that's four people for whom my parents should pay Hogwarts' expensive tuition fees at the same time…"

Hermione nodded slowly, feeling a real sense of gratitude towards Charlie. Giving his own wand away so his little brother can have a correct one… Those strong family ties were really wonderful, this generosity even when they were so poor, their incredible heart… Hermione also knew that during Ron's first and second year, Arthur would work many extra hours to cover the four tuition fees – five with Ginny –, until he won the Daily Prophet draw during the summer of 1993 that had allowed him to breathe again.

Then Hermione blotted out the ongoing discussion between Harry and Ron and finally plunged into "_Runes of Power_". She was looking both for information about resurrection rituals, and ideas on how to get around Voldemort's blood wards in Slytherin Castle's library, still hoping they could avoid to resurrect the dark wizard.

Hermione noticed that the trolley had passed by only when Harry noisily poured a huge pile of sweets on the table, making her jump.

"A Chocolate Frog Hermione?" he proposed.

Hermione hesitated for a moment before accepting. It had been so long since she had eaten one, and this train trip made her somewhat nostalgic of that distant time when she had just joined the magical world.

"What is the point of eating Chocolate Frogs when we don't even have our own cards anymore?" Ron scoffed.

"Ron, you've been trying to make me feel guilty about it at least five times a year in the last four years," Harry sighed.

"That's because you deserve it!" Ron replied. "I don't care if I have to live thought Voldemort and Umbridge again, but losing my Chocolate Frog card, that's a real disaster!"

Harry tossed a bundle of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in his face. They both ignored the glare Hermione sent them and she wondered if they were not taking advantage of begin seemingly young again. Especially Harry, who's childhood had not been really nice the first time around.

The next few hours passed peacefully, Harry and Ron chattering quietly, and Hermione reading her books. Until Neville knocked on the door of their compartment.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" he asked.

Hermione felt a twinge in her heart seeing the sad face of the boy who would later become a world-renowned war hero and botanist. As well as one of their closest friend. The last time she had seen him, he had just been killed fighting bravely against the magical source eruption, sacrificing his life in the hope of saving others .

"No, sorry," she answered. "What's your name? I'm Hermione Granger, and those two dunderheads are Ron Weasley and Harry Potter."

"Hey!" Ron protested.

Neville's gaze suddenly focused on Harry, but he quickly turned his eyes away with an embarrassed expression. Hermione was instantly remembered of how shy he had been in the beginning.

"I'm Neville Longbottom. Well, if you see my toad..."

"You should ask one of the prefects to cast an Accio on it. It's the attraction spell," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, I'll do that, thank you," Neville replied.

"Good luck and see you soon in Hogwarts!" Ron said.

Neville smiled tentatively at them and closed the door behind him.

"It's really weird to see Neville again," Harry said. "I really wanted to offer him to stay with us, to tell him that he will have a bright future and is one of the bests friends I've ever had... Don't look at like that Hermione, I know I cannot do that, I'm not stupid."

Hermione also felt sorry for Neville. But their situation was such that they could not possibly be too friendly with others. There were too many things depending on them, they could not allow themselves to be distracted.

"Shouldn't there also be a girl with terrible hair and a bossy attitude that would annoy us for twenty minutes or so?" Ron asked with mock innocence.

"Don't forget that she then should attend to the worst spellcasting demonstration ever seen in all wizarding history," Hermione replied.

"I wonder how I could have been naive enough at the time to try a spell suggested by George," Ron said thoughtfully. "In fact, I should consider myself quite lucky that this spell had had no effect at all. It could have been much worse knowing the twins!"

Ron's eyes where shinning happily and Hermione knew he was thinking about Fred and George, once again together and inseparable.

"Well, we still have a lot of time, would you mind giving me a hand?"

Hermione handed them two books, and they took them with an exaggerated sigh, which she knew perfectly well to be false. Both Harry and Ron had really helped during her research on Wales' magical source the first time around, and in the recent years Harry had also spent much more time in the Black library than what Sirius considered healthy.

"What should we look for?" Harry asked.

"The use of unicorns' horns in youth potions. To estimate a potential use in a resurrection ritual."

"I think I never asked you, but why don't you just learn about the ritual he used the first time? Why are you looking for others?" Harry said.

Hermione refrained from rolling her eyes, but Harry still had to perceive her state of mind because he gave her an apologetic smile which clearly meant that if he was not more interested in the details of her research it was because he trusted her. This quieted Hermione's frustration at the lack of attention he paid to the details of her research.

"Firstly, I refuse to sacrifice anyone's hand," Hermione answered. "Secondly, one could hardly say that you're still his enemy Harry, since you will give your blood voluntarily. And finally, the ritual in question did not last a few minutes like what you had seen, but months and months, with many steps all along, some of which required action's from Voldemort's side. We will not be able to realize it against his will."

"Then, it may indeed be better to find another ritual," Harry agreed.

They spent the rest of the journey scribbling notes on parchments they had spread on the table. At least until the compartment door opened again. Harry was the quickest to react and, with a wand motion, made all documents on the table invisible.

"I forgot about that one," Ron grumbled quietly.

Draco Malfoy, escorted by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, entered their compartment as if it was his own, his eyes fixed on Harry.

"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," Harry replied with a hint of fatalism that the Malfoy heir obviously did not perceive.

"This is Crabbe and this is Goyle," the boy said carelessly. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Hermione had to restrain herself not to burst out laughing at the Draco's mannerism. He was such a caricature when he was younger… He turned to look at her and opened his mouth, but Harry interrupted him.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said with a slight smirk. "This is my best friend, Ron Weasley, and the girl here is the smartest witch I've ever met, Hermione Granger."

"Weasley? Granger?" Draco Malfoy snorted. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to Harry and Harry shook his hand but his gaze was now cold.

"Cultural diversity is the true wealth of our world," Harry said simply. "Now if you don't mind, we must change."

Draco Malfoy seemed to hesitate for a moment, quite disturbed by Harry's far too mature answer, and Hermione stood up, deliberately brushing past him. Draco Malfoy glared at her and immediately rushed out of the compartment. The door slammed shut, and Hermione burst out laughing, soon followed by Ron and Harry.

"I had forgotten that he was such a pompous git," she managed to say between two bursts of laughter.

"It's hard to believe that he will become an okay-ish guy in the end," Ron added.

"He still has a long way to go," Harry said more seriously.

The three of them exchanged a look, and Hermione knew that they were all thinking of all the way they themselves had to go. Then they all turned their backs and changed quickly. When she finished, Hermione saw from the corner of her eyes Harry adjust something shiny under his robe.

"Harry? Don't tell me that you brought Slytherin's Locket to Hogwarts?"

"Of course I've brought it. What do you expect me to do with it? Leave it in Grimmauld Place, where anyone could stumble on it?"

Hermione pursed her lips and looked at him sadly.

"You're right… I just don't like the fact that you're wearing it all the time. Perhaps you could entrust it to me for the coming month? We could alternate between the three of us, like a long time ago."

Harry simply shrugged.

"It's been more than three years since I started wearing it, without any impact. I can wear it a little longer. I will let you keep the diary, the ring, the cup and the diadem."

"You're too kind," Ron commented sarcastically. "Talking about dangerous things, I remind you that there's still a huge basilisk in the basement of Hogwarts."

"It's currently under a strong stasis spell that only Voldemort or his descendants may lift," Hermione said. "But I suppose it would be safe to add our own stasis spell on it."

"When are we doing this then?" Ron asked.

"Not this year," Hermione answered. "We have no idea if Quirrell has gone to the Chamber of Secrets or not at one time or another during our first year."

oOoOoOo

The sorting ceremony was the same as in her memories, and Hermione was the first of her friends to be called. She advanced apprehensively, not really knowing what to expect. McGonagall put the hat on her head and she immediately felt it reach tentatively to her mind.

"You'll need to open up a little to me young girl, otherwise I will not be able to do my job," the hat said after a few unsuccessful attempts to breach her Occlumency shields.

Hermione smiled slightly. Of course the Sorting Hat used legilimency to understand children characters. No normal child would be able to protect himself completely against this kind of magic.

"What do you do for those who refuse to reveal their thoughts?" she asked out of curiosity.

"If they are trying so much to protect themselves, and if they succeed, then they would fare well in Slytherin," the hat answered.

"Is that what happened for Tom Riddle?"

Hermione felt the Sorting Hat shake on her head and she had the strange feeling that it felt assaulted.

"I don't reveal anything about the students," it said dryly. "Now let me see your mind young girl if you want me to sort you properly."

Hermione slightly lowered her Occlumency shields, and felt the Sorting Hat delve into her memories. She was ready to plead for Gryffindor in case the Hat tried to offer her Ravenclaw.

"No no no," the hat said. "You may have a lot of other characteristics, but what determines you the most is still the courage to pursue your ideas until the very end. GRYFFINDOR!"

Hermione stood up and handed the Sorting Hat to McGonagall, strangely surprised. Of course she had always followed Harry and Ron, but she had never felt particularly courageous herself. Far away in any case from the bravery that characterized her two closest friends.

She walked slowly to Gryffindor's table, who clapped for her, and sat near Seamus. The list continued until Harry was called, and she watched as her friend came to sit under the hat. The Sorting Hat announced Gryffindor after a few minutes and Harry walked over to her, a big smile on his face, as the Weasley twins yelled "We got Potter! We got Potter". Probably because it was an opportunity to make some ruckus without anyone protesting. A few minutes later, Ron joined them.

They were back.

oOoOoOo

The first evening was a sad reminder of how their years in Hogwarts would not be the same this time. All the people they had seen grow, mature, and become respectable wizards in their past life were still young here, frighteningly young. So terribly different from the people they had parted with when they went back in time.

Lavender and Parvati were still those silly little girls who expected Prince Charming to save and love them. Seamus and Dean were still these young boys who talked only about sports and who did not know how to approach girls. Even Percy, who had seemed so mature, so adult when Hermione had first entered Hogwarts, was still only a young boy trying desperately to find a place in his family by being the perfect son.

And even the first classes had been difficult for them. They could not just pretend to be three geniuses, not to the extent of their real capacities. But it was actually quite complex to botch a spell without endangering anyone. During the first transfiguration class, Ron had turned his match into a fish by trying not to turn it into a needle. Only Harry's quick reaction – vanishing the fish – had allow them to avoid McGonagall suspicions. From her side, Hermione had made her feather levitate so forcefully in charms that it had destroyed part of the ceiling, although she was in fact only trying to make her feather levitate weakly. And it was only the beginning.

oOoOoOo

Severus Snape looked disdainfully at the first years in his classroom. Another bunch of incompetent idiots he was doomed to teach. Minerva always spoke of the feeling of accomplishment she felt when she saw her students grow and progress year on year, but he only felt contempt when he saw the same mediocrity again and again, the same stupid mistakes.

His own godson should not be a total disaster, even if the child was a pureblooded and spoiled little snot who knew nothing about how life could be cruel. But this year would nonetheless be the worst of all, because there was Potter. Severus did not refrain his contemptuous grimace when his gaze followed the carbon copy of James Potter setting himself at a desk at the back of the classroom. Probably believing that he was going to be able to make a ruckus in his class and behave as badly as his father and his godfather had.

"Potter!" he said as soon as he had finished his introduction on the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

A strange expression passed on the child's face. An expression that Snape would have described as nostalgic if there was absolutely no reason for the Potter brat to feel that way.

"A sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death, sir."

Sheer luck probably, Severus thought angrily.

"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"Bezoars are found in the stomachs of goats, sir."

Severus squinted suspiciously , wondering if Potter had found a way to cheat.

"What's the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"There is no difference, sir, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite."

Severus Snape was slightly surprised he had to admit it. The boy's seriousness reminded him more of Lily than James Potter. And those eyes that looked at him without blinking, exactly the same shade as those of the brilliant witch Severus had condemned to death. Perhaps Potter had taken more of her than of her idiotic husband in the end. Perhaps he should give the boy a chance to prove himself, he thought while giving instructions to prepare a potion to cure boils.

But then, no more than ten minutes later, Potter blew up his cauldron, splashing the entire classroom and all the students with a greenish liquid that turned out to be quite corrosive, a feat of destruction that should have been impossible, and Severus decided that the boy was not worth his time.

oOoOoOo

During the flying lesson, Hermione discreetly cast a spell on Neville to make his broom go down when he lost control of it and there was no mockery, no incident, no nightly duel, and no impromptu encounter with Fluffy. Harry mildly protested against the missed opportunity for him to join the Quidditch team, but quickly fell silent under Hermione's glare, and her reminder that she had done this to prevent any taunting towards Neville.

After the first weeks they started to convincingly botch their spells, and could easily pass as any normal young wizards. Soon, the teachers had categorized them as inattentive and slightly lazy students – even Hermione was reluctant to waste time writing long essays for homework when they had to focus on much more important topics – but undoubtedly gifted. Except perhaps Snape, who still watched Harry as if he was going to destroy Hogwarts by his mere presence.

Time passed strangely fast. Soon it was Halloween, but this time Hermione was not in danger and Harry and Ron wisely followed Percy's orders. Then the first Quidditch match. But Harry was not playing, so Quirrell did not attempt anything against him. Gryffindor lost, Terence Higgs having grabbed the snitch, and Harry and Ron were moody all day, much to Hermione's despair, who still did not understand how they could be so passionate about a mere sport.

During Christmas, Harry received the invisibility cloak from Dumbledore, and they were finally able to walk at night in Hogwarts freely, Hermione having this time remained in Hogwarts during the holidays. They firstly established their headquarters in the restricted section of the library, but moved very quickly in the Room of Requirement when they realized that it provided them a direct access to the restricted section when they worked their requirements correctly. And it was also possible to transform the room in a duelling room for them to practice their skills from time to time.

To ensure that the timeline was preserved, Harry went several nights in a row to see the Mirror of Erised, until he finally met Dumbledore there. However, he lied to the headmaster, saying that he was seeing his parents in the mirror, when in fact he was seeing Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and all their children and grandchildren, his first life having finally brought him a lot of love and good moments he was not sure he would be able to relive again. Although Harry was convinced that their current plan was their best chance to stop the magical source disaster, he was lucid enough to know that there was still a good chance for everything to go wrong.

Out of the corner of their eyes, they were closely watching Quirrell, Harry occasionally venturing to use the bond he had with Voldemort to spy on him. Even with his grasp on Quirrell's vital energy, the Dark Lord was still extremely week, only waking up from time to time to give some orders to his servant, and his attention was mostly focused on the stone, and rarely on Harry.

Hermione had to confess that she was almost impressed by what Voldemort had managed to do - robbing Gringotts, manipulating Hagrid, passing all the tests keeping the stone - when he had barely enough energy to maintain his hold on Quirrell. But at least he clearly did not have the strength to take more than an distant interest in them.

For now everything was fine.

oOoOoOo

Soon it was spring. And Hermione, Ron and Harry were getting more and more nervous. Once more they had needed to send Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback to Romania. They had not been caught this time of course, and had saved themselves a trip to the Forbidden Forest. But once that task was done, there was nothing left to do before the end of the year and Quirrell's attempt to stole the Philosopher's Stone. It was one thing to say that they had to get the stone, but they all knew it would not be that simple. Because they wanted to do it discreetly, without alerting nor Dumbledore, nor Voldemort. And there was one other thing that was problematic…

"What do we do with Quirrell?" Hermione asked one day.

"Quirrell?" Harry said, lifting his nose from a seemingly harmless book that dealt with dark magic.

"Last time Quirrell had been killed and Voldemort had been reduced to a mere wraith, again. If Voldemort remains with Quirrell, we have no idea what he will do," Hermione explained.

"Are you telling me I need to kill Quirrell?" Harry asked, alarmed.

Hermione shivered. Quirrell may have been a Death Eater, but he was still a human being and it was hardly their place to decide his fate. Hardly their place to bypass the law. After all, if they did it, they were no better than Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"I'm just saying that we need to do something to force Voldemort to leave Quirrell's body," Hermione said. "So he will act in a way we can predict."

Ron, Harry and Hermione exchanged a look across the huge coffee table they were sitting around in the Room of Requirement.

"Is it possible to force Voldemort out without killing Quirrell?" Ron asked.

Hermione absentmindedly petted Crookshanks, who was as always curled up near her when she was researching.

"Isn't it an opportunity to capture Voldemort?" Harry asked. "Even if we don't resurrect him right away?"

Hermione froze, not liking at all the idea of keeping Voldemort imprisoned in their care for several years.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said slowly. "Your scar allows us in any case to find him, and keeping him locked up for three year... I would prefer him to wander aimlessly in Albania to be honest. I have no desire to see if he can manage to possess one of us."

"You still think he must be resurrected at the end of our fourth year?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Hermione answered. "I prefer to stay as close as possible to the original timeline, and you won't be able to change my mind on that. And anyway, we still haven't found a suitable ritual."

Hermione saw Ron ponder her words as Harry scribbled something on the parchment in front of him.

"In this case we need to get the stone back on the same day as last time and wait for Quirrell in the last room," Ron said. "The Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder will hide our identities. Voldemort will think it was Dumbledore's trap. And Dumbledore will think that Voldemort has recovered the stone on his own. At least that way Dumbledore will already be suspicious if somehow Voldemort manages to escape after his resurrection."

Hermione agreed. The plan seemed ok. Ron would have no difficulty to recreate the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, having spent his entire career at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with George. And Voldemort would have no suspicions of their involvement .

"We still have no idea about how to separate Voldemort from Quirrell," Harry reminded.

"I'll look into that," Hermione sighed.

oOoOoOo

All three of them were standing in front of the door of the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side, looking at it with clear suspicion. They had come several hours ahead of their first life schedule, just after their History of Magic exam. They were going to miss dinner, but it was not such a strange occurrence for them and no one would notice.

"So?" Ron asked. "Are the detection spells complicated ones?"

"No, not really," Hermione answered.

"Who had triggered them the last time? Quirrell? Us?" Harry asked as Hermione began to wave her wand in various patterns.

"Those ones? Us," Ron replied. "Hermione has not even asked us to shut up as she's currently working on them, so I doubt Voldemort, even with its current weakness and Quirrell's more than dubious help, would have triggered them."

"Those ones?" Harry noticed.

"There must be others below there, because this has always been intended as a trap for Voldemort," Ron said. "Probably in the mirror room to block him there, and then Dumbledore would have been able to confront him. But he had not expected our intervention, and in a way we had let Voldemort escape… You'll need to be cautious regarding the last room wards Hermione."

"Yes, I know," Hermione answered without looking at her friends.

Lulling Fluffy to sleep was easy. Going through the Devil's Snare child's play. Catching the flying key could have been quick if Harry had not insisted to use the brooms for his own entertainment. The chessboard, on the other hand, was more problematic.

"I'm sure I can finish this game in less than forty minutes," Ron said.

"And I'm sure I can undo the transfiguration in less than thirty," Hermione answered.

"But if you remove the transfiguration, Voldemort will notice it," Ron argued.

"The last time we played this game, you ended up stunned in a corner of the room," Hermione replied.

"I was twelve!"

Finally Harry stepped in and decided that playing the game would be better. Hermione had to admit that Ron aced it, and soon enough they were on the other side of the board. Before leaving, Hermione cast a confounding spell on the chessboard to ensure the pieces would not be able to remember them.

Finally Hermione started working on the wards surrounding the mirror room while staying in Snape's puzzle room. It took her nearly an hour but she managed to make all three of them pass without breaking the wards. Harry had no problem recovering the Philosopher's Stone, though Hermione had to spend another hour erasing her friend's face from the mirror's memory. Dumbledore was an incredible wizard, and his spell work was definitely impressive.

In the end they did not need to wait long until Quirrell and Voldemort arrived. Hermione threw the darkness powder and it worked perfectly well, plunging the room into complete darkness for everyone except her. The next steps of the plan were simple. Hermione had found a ritual of exorcism that should work perfectly to separate Voldemort from Quirrell. She only needed to stun Quirrell.

What they had not anticipated was the feral terror that gripped their teacher when he realized he could not see anything. Quirrell threw himself backwards, avoiding by sheer luck Hermione's Stupefix, then let out a hysterical yell that froze Hermione for few seconds.

She cast a second Stupefix, but Quirrell - or perhaps it was Voldemort –, had erected a shield, and her spell bounced off it with a clear sound that echoed in the room .

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Quirrell shouted.

Then another voice spoke.

"Silence! Tenebras accen..."

Hermione froze, recognizing the incantation. There was no doubt that the spell in question would succeed in overcoming the enchantments of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. But Harry reacted faster than her, having probably recognized Voldemort's voice.

"Expelliarmus!" he cast in an approximate direction.

There was a new sound when his spell impacted the shield and Quirrell threw himself blindly on Harry. A cry of pain was heard when he fell right on Harry. The latter tried to disengage himself but Quirrell had involuntarily made him drop his wand, and was crushing Harry under him. The professor tried to stand up, but stumbled and fell back on Harry's legs. A sickening smell of burning flesh started to fill in the room.

"Do something!" Ron shouted.

He was looking at one of the walls, but Hermione knew he was addressing her – the only one to see what was going on – and that made her come out of her torpor.

"Expulso!" Hermione cast.

Quirrell was thrown backwards and hit the wall behind him violently. The resulting cracking sound plunged the room into complete silence and Hermione watched in horror as Quirrell's body fell limply on the floor.

"Oh no, oh no no no ," she murmured.

She rushed to the professor just in time to see a black shadow rise from his body before disappearing. She looked for a pulse, without finding any, before casting a diagnostic spell that confirmed her that Quirrell was dead.

"I killed Quirrell," she said in a high-pitched voice.

"What?" Ron said.

She noticed Ron and Harry trying to walk towards her, but did not really react, desperately trying to revive Quirrell.

"And Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"He flew away," Hermione murmured.

"Can you cancel the powder's effects Hermione please?" Ron asked.

His tone was calm and reassuring, reminding her of the Ron who had at one time being able to sooth all her worries. With a quick wand motion Hermione made the darkness disappear, and Harry and Ron joined her near Quirrell's body.

"Calm down Hermione," Harry said softly. "It was an accident, okay?"

"I killed him Harry!"

"Not sure if it was really you or the curse," Ron said. "A simple Expulso shouldn't have broken his neck!"

"But..."

"Come on Hermione," Ron cut her off. "We need to make an appearance in the common room tonight to avoid any suspicions, and what is done, is done. The path we have decided to follow is risky, and we knew it from the beginning. What we need to avoid is the death of all of us in 50 years, not the one of a Death Eater whose dreams were to resurrect Voldemort and kill Harry."

Hermione nodded weakly. Quirrell should not have died, but it was not right the moment to dwell on it. Harry gently took her arm, and they all came out of the room. With a flick of her wand, Hermione triggered Dumbledore's alarms, slightly guilty of the anxiety the old man would inevitably feel when he would discover Quirrell's lifeless body and the Philosopher's Stone gone.

oOoOoOo

AN: See you next week for the second year.


	6. Chapter 5

Hello everyone!

Thank you for the reviews.

Below the second year: I hope you'll enjoy it!

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 5 - July 1992 - June 1993 **

Hermione checked one last time that her discretion spells were active and went down the road from Hangleton to Little Hangleton resolutely. She had come back from Hogwarts the day before, and she was taking advantage of the twilight to look for one of Voldemort's Horcruxes: Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, bearer of the Resurrection Stone. It was strangely appropriate that she was the one in charge of this, when she had killed a man just a few days earlier.

Hermione had spent several days wondering who had really killed Quirrell. Was she the one responsible for it? Or was it Voldemort himself when he had abandoned his host? Or perhaps, as Ron had suggested, was it indeed the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position? Hermione conclusions fluctuated with her mood, but at least this time it had not been Harry, who had seen far too many deaths in his life in Hermione's humble opinion. And Hermione was lucid enough to know that it was pointless to dwell on Quirrell's death when there was still so much to be done. She simply hoped that it would not be a portent of their ability to save the victims of the war this time around.

Hermione's attention went back to the task at hand. The Gaunt's house was as miserable as Harry had described it. It was a real hovel: small, unstable, unhealthy. It gave the impression of not having been inhabited for centuries. Hermione approached slowly, and first cast several basic recognition spells. She was pretty sure there would be nothing too complicated here. To keep the old house unidentifiable in this Muggle village.

"Damn," she winced, however, when she got the results from her spells.

They came back blank, as if there was no magic at all here. And that could only mean one thing. Whatever the wards were, they were devilishly well hidden. Hermione would have liked to have Ginny or Bill with her. Breaking down magical wards was their domain. She was more into charms from her side.

But Hermione was not one to refu**s**e a challenge when she saw one. And Voldemort's magic was undoubtedly one. Salazar Slytherin's library in Slytherin Castle was a good enough proof of that. A library that she was still unable to access, despite years of research. And she still could not even understand how the wards could have been cast – she had never seen such powerful wards to be honest.

"Revelare Praesidium , Lux Suspendat," she cast, particularly focused.

Several spells came out fluidly from her wand, illuminating the atmosphere around the house with surreal colours. Hermione briefly hoped that no Muggle was looking in that direction at that precise moment.

This time she got a signal. The magic she had in front of her was dark, very dark, and Hermione wondered what sacrifice Voldemort had made to set up these wards. Fortunately, with a few hours in front of her, she was rather confident about her ability to recover the Horcrux.

As she had supposed, Voldemort had not dared to put too extreme wards around the shack, so it would not stand out if a wizard cast some detection spells in the area for one reason or another. If Dumbledore had not delved into the past of the dark wizard, nobody would have ever been able to know that in this house was hidden one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. But Dumbledore had fortunately found the connection between Voldemort and the Gaunt, and Hermione knew enough about Voldemort's Horcruxes to dismantle his wards.

And indeed, in the early morning she was holding the ring in her hands, even if she had had to destroy the wards for good, and the curse on the ring with it. She was half tempted to test the stone, but she restrained herself and put the ring in her bag. She would give it to Harry as soon as she was in Grimmauld Place - he was after all the true master of the Deathly Hallows, or had been at one point of time - and she would recover Slytherin's Locket instead.

For a moment, Hermione hesitated to call it a night. She had thought that she would have the time after Little Hangleton to go quickly in the Norfolk, where she knew was a forgotten library, full of precious books she would have liked to recover. But the sun was already raising, and there was too much of a risk of making her parents anxious if they did not find her in her room. And she had no wish to upset them, especially as she would spent only two weeks with them this summer… She would recover the books tomorrow.

Sighing, Hermione adjusted her beaded handbag over her shoulder and Apparated away. She would need to reinforce the enchantments on her handbag. As she was the one keeping the Philosopher's Stone, and more generally all the things that were not Slytherin's Locket - including rare books and now one of Voldemort's Horcruxes -, it would be a disaster if anyone was able to take the bag from her.

oOoOoOo

During the rest of the summer Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny spent their time between Grimmauld Place and the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley being absolutely delighted to see that her youngest was quite welcomed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and Sirius being just glad to have people at home, with him and Remus. And the four of them, they were just glad to be together. The only ones of their kind in a way, wizards more than accomplished in children's bodies.

Predictably enough, they all preferred to be at Grimmauld Place. Molly Weasley was doing her best to content them, but she was slightly overwhelming in her motherly love, and she treated them like the children she thought they were. Sirius, for his part, let them do what they wanted as long as they did not get out of the house alone. And this last part was only because Remus had insisted it was not safe to do so.

And in Grimmauld Place there was the Black's library, to Hermione's utter delight, and she spent most of her time there, often with Harry, Ron and Ginny. In truth, it was not even for her own sake that she was spending so much time there, but mostly because there were still so many things she needed to find. Potential ways to retrieve Slytherin's books without using Voldemort's blood, and resurrection rituals to be sure to be ready for the end of their fourth year being the main ones.

Fortunately, her friends were helping her. Harry by looking for ways to remove his own Horcrux. Ginny by reading anew all the books they had on magical sources in hope to find something they had missed the first time, and put a stop to Harry's dangerous plan. And Ron by following local and international news closely, checking that no strange act could be connected to Voldemort or any of the magical sources. Ron also wanted to be the aware of the powerful people when they would have to climb the political ladder again after Hogwarts.

The only disruption of their summer had been Dobby. The elf had not managed to enter Grimmauld Place, the wards surrounding the Black's ancestral home being particularly complex, but each time they had went out in the Muggle world Dobby had arranged for various incidents, triggering Harry's bad mood.

"I know he thinks he's doing this for my sake, and I know he's taking great risks to try to give me his message, but it's totally useless and Sirius will end up thinking that I'm even more clumsy than Tonks," Harry complained. "Can't I tell him to stop Hermione?"

"No," Ron answered before her. "Not until we have the diary."

"Merlin give me the strength not to strangle Dobby the next time he does something ," Harry sighed.

Hermione and Ginny barely looked up from the books they were reading as Ron patted his friend's shoulder gently. There was no doubt for them that Harry would first strangle himself before touching a single hair of Dobby's head.

oOoOoOo

When they arrived in front of Flourish and Blotts, Harry sighed deeply.

"It's finally time to confront Lockhart," he said to answer Hermione's questioning glance.

"At least you didn't have him as a teacher during your first year. It took almost six months to Lupin the following year to convince me that Defence Against the Dark Arts was not a totally useless topic," Ginny huffed.

"Stop whining and stay focussed," Ron said. "We have to stick to what we did in our first life for Lucius Malfoy and dad to meet at the right time."

Immediately, they started acting like any other children, melting perfectly into their role. Well, almost perfectly. Harry's glare when Lockhart approached him would have scared away anyone, and even managed to dim slightly the impostor's smile. Who proved that he had absolutely no survival instinct by still grabbing Harry.

Hermione wondered for a few seconds what would the Defence Against the Dark Arts curse do to him at the end of the year. There would be no Basilisk, nor any Chamber of Secrets, but there was no way someone as pathetic as Lockhart would be able to escape a curse cast by Voldemort.

She should also take some time to write down her notes on their experience when they would have succeeded their mission. It was fascinating to see that despite some big changes like the liberation of Sirius, the course of time still did not seem to change too much. Or perhaps they had not yet seen the impact of their actions…

oOoOoOo

"So?" Ron asked eagerly.

They were in Ron's room in the Burrow, not long after all the other Weasley had gone to bed. Ginny almost reverently recovered from her bag the little black diary that had once belonged to Tom Marvolo Riddle. It looked like a totally innocent notebook, far from the dark magic object it really was, and that discrepancy was enough to make Hermione uncomfortable.

"Who's going to keep it?" Hermione asked.

Despite the confidentiality charms they had set up on Ron's room she spoke softly, carefully watching the seemingly inoffensive diary.

"Couldn't we write few words to Tom Riddle telling him to go to hell?" Ginny suddenly asked. "With all our worst wishes?"

Hermione tore her gaze from the diary and looked with horror at Ginny.

"It's out of the question for you to write anything in this diary!" Harry reacted.

"It's out of the question for _anyone_ to write anything in this diary!" Hermione corrected.

A Horcrux was not a toy. And surely not a Horcrux made by Voldemort.

"Ginny's idea's not totally insane," Ron said. "This would allow us to study closely how the Horcrux reacts. After all, it's almost alive, and perhaps this will help us get ideas for what to do with Harry's Horcrux?"

Hermione looked at him befuddled.

"I've never heard anything as stupid as that! Frankly, it's not like the diary has not proven to be dangerous!" she said.

"Come on Hermione," Ginny implored.

"You know that the Horcrux could react very badly?" Hermione retorted. "And I'm not sure I can get anything out of this interaction."

"Honestly, I'd love to show the Diary that it cannot do anything to us," Ginny said, "and that we now have the upper hand."

There was a sad gleam in her eyes, and Hermione remembered that somewhere deep down inside her, Ginny still resented herself for being unable to resist the diary. Hermione wanted to protest, but finally gave up. She still remembered vividly Ginny's despair after the end of her second year. Her difficulties to become a normal girl again.

This was the only reason that pushed Hermione to accept. Harry just glared at Ginny, who ignored him with practiced ease.

Hermione saw Ginny open the diary, and dip her quill in the inkwell. She held the quill in the air for a moment, hesitantly, before a resolute expression appeared on her face. Hermione grabbed her wand, ready to cast diagnostic spells as well as to defend her friend if needed.

The letters T.M. Riddle could be read at the top of the first page, and Ginny, after a momentary hesitation, turned to the second page. Then she shook the tip of her quill slightly, and a drop of ink crashed on the page. Hermione could not help but watch with fascination as the drop of ink disappeared and the page became perfectly blank again. The spell seemed much more fluid than the one she had herself put on their communication notebooks.

"_Hello,_" Ginny wrote.

The ink disappeared again. And then new words appeared on the page.

"_Hello and welcome to my diary. What is your name?_"

The letters were fine and elegant, and Hermione wondered for a moment if it was really Tom Riddle's handwriting, or if the diary had been charmed to look so distinguished.

"_My name's Dolores Umbridge._"

Hermione nearly choked when she read Ginny's answer, and the redhead winked at her.

"_Nice to meet you, Dolores Umbridge. My name is Tom Riddle. It is a real pleasure to make your acquaintance."_

Hermione cast a few spells, trying to see if there was anything different between this Horcrux and the others. But she only spotted quite standard projections of the diary's magic towards Ginny. Very faint for the moment.

"Silver-tongued jerk," Harry commented darkly.

"Quite," Ginny agreed, with a fierce expression on her face.

"_Are you really Tom Riddle?_" she wrote. "_Tom Marvolo Riddle?_"

"_I am. Do you know me, Dolores?_" Voldemort's Horcrux asked.

The magical projections from the Diary started to become more intense, and Hermione waved warningly to Ginny who just nodded. She was no longer a child and it would take much more than that for the Diary to seduce her.

"_But of course, you're famous Tom! The greatest wizard of our generation. A man everyone respects!_"

"Don't you think you're overdoing it?" Hermione asked.

"She's perfect," Ron answered for his sister.

Hermione turned her gaze back to the diary, and cast a new set of spells. But the charms animating the notebook had obviously nothing to do with the Horcrux. It was simply additional enchantments allowing it to communicate, like a portrait. It was not even dark magic…

"_Really? I am glad to know it. Would you be kind enough to tell me how I am going to become famous, Dolores? You see, I am but a mere memory of the one I was when I was sixteen, and I would be so glad to know more about my future._"

"So many sweet words for a fraud…" Hermione commented.

"Coming from the girl who was once in love with Lockhart, that's saying much," Ron pointed out.

"Are you really going to taunt me with this story in this life also?"

"Yes," Harry, Ron and Ginny simultaneously answered.

Hermione glared at them half-heartedly. A Machiavellian smile stretched Ginny's lips as she inked her quill again.

"_Sure Tom!_" Ginny wrote. "_You're famous for defending the rights of the Muggleborns, and having introduced many Muggle customs in the wizarding world._"

The paper shuddered under their eyes, and Ginny's smile turned vicious.

"_How have you come across my diary, dear Dolores?_" Tom Riddle's memory asked. "_It would brighten my day to know a little more about you._"

"Liar," Ginny whispered.

"He suspects something," Harry said.

And indeed Hermione detected a stronger emanation of magic from the diary towards Ginny, and something looking vaguely like a persuasion spell.

"Well, that's enough," Hermione interjected. "Give me the diary Ginny. There is nothing more in it than a Horcrux, with an impressive amount of complex spells around it of course, but those are unrelated to what we seek."

Ginny looked at her with rather unconvincing doe eyes, and finally closed the diary and passed it to Hermione, who put it in her bottomless bag.

"I am keeping the diary, and we won't open it again" Hermione said.

"Then give me the locket," Ron demanded.

"Fine," Hermione agreed.

"Should you continue keeping the Philosopher's Stone also, Hermione?" Ron asked. "None of us need its curing properties for now, so won't it be better to hide it somewhere safe?"

"Like in Gringotts? Or in Hogwarts?" Harry asked ironically.

Ron rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean," he said.

"Let's be honest, Hermione's handbag is probably the safest place on Earth currently," Ginny pointed out.

"And if anything happens, if anyone's on the verge of death, it could be handy to have it nearby," Hermione completed.

"Fine, fine," Ron agreed. "I know all too well that you can be a real harpy regarding your belongings, Hermione."

oOoOoOo

Of course Dobby blocked the access to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters when Harry and Ron tried to cross the brick wall. But unlike the first time, Harry and Ron just waited with exasperation for Molly and Arthur to return. Harry had insisted that Hermione and Ginny go first, and Ron had insisted to stay with Harry, so Hermione and Ginny were alone on the Hogwarts Express.

"I'm always surprised to see that house-elves are so powerful," Ginny said once they were both seated in a compartment, Crookshanks purring near Hermione. "Neither mom nor dad had been able to unblock the passage."

Hermione smiled, noting that Ginny was not mentioning the fact that she might have unlocked the passage herself. It had always seemed to Hermione that Ginny had wasted her time being a professional Quidditch player, instead of becoming a curse-breaker. She would have being devilishly good at it…

"House-elves are far more powerful than what most wizards think," Hermione answered. "I guess in this life I'll have to fight for years to get them more respect from wizards. Again."

The magnitude of the task was enough to discourage her. But Hermione was keen to make the life of house-elves better as soon as she could. No reason that they cannot benefit from her increased knowledge this time around.

"Are you going to start the spew again to preserve the spatiotemporal continuum?"

Hermione glared at Ginny and started to get books from her bag as the redhead laughed softly. But before Hermione could delve into her research someone knocked lightly on the door of their compartment, and Ginny stood up to open it.

"Hullo," said a singing voice. "May I come in and sit with you? There aren't many other seats left..."

Hermione looked up, recognizing Luna's voice. The girl seemed ready to hear a refusal, certainly not the first one, and Hermione smiled at her warmly.

"Of course, come in," she said.

They left the door open, and were also joined a few moments later by Neville. Or rather, Ginny grabbed Neville when he went down the corridor to have him seated with them. Unlike last year, they had been able to see each other all summer, and Hermione and Ginny were happy to be able to spend some time with younger versions of their dear friends.

And at a glance, they made the promise to protect Luna from mockery, just like Harry, Ron and Hermione had done last year for Neville.

oOoOoOo

Hermione had barely entered her dorm after the welcoming feast that her bracelet warmed slightly. She took refuge behind the curtains of her bed, took her communication notebook out of one of her pockets and opened it.

"_We're getting the diadem tonight,_" Harry had written.

They had just came back to Hogwarts, but they had actually no reason to wait more.

"_Midnight in the common room?_" Hermione suggested.

"_Perfect._"

All four of them were there on time, and they discussed a little before setting out under the Invisibility Cloak. The fact that Harry had been – or still was? – the Master of Death seemed to make it even more magical, and they had absolutely no trouble slipping under, even the four of them together. And they were quite certain that even Dumbledore could not detect them when they were wearing it.

"We could really benefit from having the Marauder's Map," Ron whispered as they cautiously strolled down the halls.

"I've been working on a new version of it since this summer," Harry said. "It would probably be ready soon."

"If you need a hand for the charms I can help," Ginny offered.

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry answered.

But Hermione felt he would not do it, probably taking to heart to be able to redo the masterpiece of the marauders.

Finding Ravenclaw's Diadem was easy as pie, even among the monstrous chaos that reigned in the Room of Hidden Things, and this time it was Ginny who kept the Horcrux. Now they only had to get their hands on Hufflepuff's Cup.

"I'd like to go down to the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said. "We need to put a stasis spell on the Basilisk, and they are some books in the study room that I would have liked to re-read."

Ron grumbled at the lack of sleep and Ginny at seeing the Chamber again. Harry, on the other hand, seemed very happy with the opportunity to speak Parseltongue.

Although the diary was secured in the bottom of her bag, Hermione was highly alert as soon as they entered the Chamber of Secrets. And she could see around her that Harry, Ron and Ginny were not more relaxed.

The room was still imposing. Spectacular and frightening at the same time, made no doubt to inspire fear and emphasize the alleged superiority of Salazar Slytherin. They stopped for a moment in front of the Basilisk's skin. It was not as impressive as the skeleton that Hermione had seen during the Battle of Hogwarts, but it was enough to remind them that the millennial creature measured more than sixty feet.

"Let's move on," Ron whispered. "I really don't want to stay here longer than necessary."

They resumed their journey, only stopping before Salazar Slytherin's statue. Harry hissed what Hermione knew was "_Speak to me Slytherin, the greatest of the Hogwarts Four_". It was hardly surprising that with such an ancestor Lord Voldemort was so conceited. Especially if he had managed to discover this place without any help during his school days, under the nose of all teachers.

As soon as the passageway opened, their wands were firmly pointed in front of them, and they all closed their eyes while casting detection spells.

"It seems empty," Hermione finally said. "I'll open my eyes."

She did however conjure a cloud of water vapour before carefully opening her eyes. The passage in front of them was indeed empty.

"It's clear," she said.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny also opened their eyes, and they moved cautiously into the depths of the chamber, heading towards where they knew was the Basilisk's nest. The immense snake was there, curled around itself in its sleep. Even knowing that it cannot wake up the Basilisk remained quite frightening, and Hermione saw Harry mechanically rub his arm, where one life earlier the Basilisk had bitten him.

They spent almost an hour adding spells around the snake to ensure that no one could wake it up. Surely not enough to stop a particularly motivated dark wizard, but at least enough to give them time to intervene.

When they returned to Gryffindor's Tower, it was past two o'clock in the morning and they parted wishing each other good night, aware that they would have to make an effort the next day not to fall asleep during the first class of the year. Especially since herbology was not the subject that fascinated them the most.

oOoOoOo

The beginning of the year went without any issue. The boredom they felt in class was compensated by the complex researches they were doing – usually even during the classes –. They had kept their distribution of the summer. Hermione the resurrection rituals, Harry the human Horcruxes, Ginny the magical sources and Ron the follow up of the news. Their slow progress was frustrating, but they were gradually moving forward. Especially on resurrection rituals.

Ginny's presence was also quite refreshing. Her good humour and her optimism were more than welcomed, and Harry was just overjoyed not to be separated from his wife anymore. Their affection for each other was so visible that everyone teased them with that, but they did not care.

And Ginny had also helped Hermione to ambush Lockhart, cursing him with a spell invented by Hermione especially for the occasion, a curse causing strong migraines to Lockhart each time he was within a meter of Harry. Hermione almost could have felt bad for the teacher if Lockhart's obsession with Harry was not so unhealthy. And seeing the misunderstanding on his face every time a headache was triggered when he wanted to talk to Harry was particularly satisfying.

Having more opportunities to speak between themselves, and their plan progressing quite well, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny also opened up more to others. They started to play Gobstones or chess with Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender and Parvati from time to time. Sometimes, they even helped their friends with their homework. Ron and Ginny also spent time with Fred, George, and even Percy, knowing all too well how cruel life could be.

Outside the walls of Gryffindor's common room they watched over Luna, who was always quite happy to talk with them. Hermione suspected that the girl, without even realizing it, felt that they were like old friends. And on contrary to her first encounter with Luna, Hermione was now much more likely to appreciate the strange perceptiveness of their friend. It was a real relief to see that even this time they were gradually forming a strong friendship with Neville and Luna.

The only painful people around them were Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape, but even their impact on their lives seemed quite tamed compared to their first time. Or perhaps Hermione was now finding Malfoy's remarks more childish than annoying, and Snape's barbs more sad than hurtful.

All in all, the beginning of the year was going very well, Hermione thought with satisfaction as she sank deeper into one of the armchairs in the common room on the third Saturday morning of September, Crookshanks in her lap. And then Harry emerged from the boys' dormitory.

"What are you doing Harry?" she asked.

Her friend had just came down with his brand new Nimbus 2001 in his hand, a gift from Sirius for his birthday – no matter that Sirius had already offered his godson the Nimbus 2000 the previous year, Harry having since long given up trying to contain Sirius' spending impulses –.

"I'm going to the Quidditch team try-outs of course," Harry answered.

"But it's unfair!" Hermione gasped.

Harry just shrugged.

"Ron, tell me you're not going to go with him?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not going to go with him."

"Aha!"

"I'll wait until we are in fifth year, there's only the keeper's position that interests me, and with Wood still in Hogwarts I'll never have it now!"

"But..."

"I guess Ginny's going to join the team next year, aren't you?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Ginny replied smugly.

"But it's even more unfair!" Hermione cried out.

Ginny had been an extremely talented professional Quidditch player. She had even played for the English national team!

"We are going to crush Slytherin so violently! They'll never see it coming", Ron said while lounging even deeper into his chair, his hands behind his head, and a big smile on his face. "And at least that way we would be sure to win the house cup this year. I still can't believe we lost it to Slytherin last year!"

Hermione gave up and plunged back into her books.

oOoOoOo

Dobby had been quite annoying a few more times, until Harry finally got fed up and ordered him to stop trying to save his life. But only after the match with the crazy Bludger, to Hermione's utmost dismay, as Harry had wanted to know how long he could fare against it, while preventing Draco Malfoy to catch the Golden Snitch – Harry being keen to leave Gryffindor as much time as possible to score points even if it meant also taking care of cutting in on Slytherin's Chasers –. Even having to spend the night in the infirmary to regrow the bones of his hand did not make Harry regret his decision, his time being three times better than the one of his first life, and Gryffindor having won 260 points to 20.

The first thing Harry did the next day was to write a long missive to Lucius Malfoy proposing to buy his house elf. He lied shamelessly in it, saying that it was Draco who had told him all the best about Dobby, and that he wanted to restore the standing of the Potter's name by buying a personal servant. The sum was attractive enough for Lucius Malfoy to believe that his son had swindled Harry Potter and Lucius had agreed. As from that day Dobby was declared a free elf by Harry, and he started a cult to the Boy-Who-Lived in the depth of Hogwarts' kitchens.

Evidently, Gryffindor's victory also put Harry in the spotlight, as he had made no effort to restrain his talent while flying. He became, even more than before, Gryffindor's golden boy. Probably also because they had all consciously avoided to go to Lockhart's duelling club. It was already not easy for them to pretend a lower magical level than their real one, but in a duel they were all too afraid that their instincts would kick in and take over.

Besides, it was not like the duelling club had been a success the first time around... Its only achievement had been to make everyone suspicious of Harry for speaking Parseltongue, and of course none of them wanted everyone to know Harry's hidden talent for the snake's tongue.

From afar they watched Voldemort, Harry regularly locating him with the link. For the moment the dark wizard seemed content to stay in Albania, to their utmost relief. He was gradually regaining strength, but he still had a long way to go.

An evening Hermione had visited the Trophy Room and had examined the golden badge Riddle had been rewarded for services to the school, and his Medal for Magical Merit. She could almost visualize the event in her head. Leonard Spencer-Moon, the minister at that time, thanking profusely a young Tom Riddle with a fake smile.

"What a bunch of idiots," Hermione murmured, thinking about Armando Dippet and Leonard Spencer-Moon.

Before thinking that they were themselves probably far more stupid, as they were planning to resurrect Voldemort. They did not even have the excuse of not knowing who he really was. But Hermione had still not been able to find any other way to access Slytherin's books... and without those books they still did not know how to stabilize the magical source. If only they could find a way to solve their issue without involving Voldemort... But Hermione suspected they would not be so lucky.

oOoOoOo

Even without the petrified students, Lockhart decided that Valentine's Day should be celebrated, and Hermione, Harry and Ron froze in horror as they entered the Great Hall and saw the heart-shaped confetti. Only Ginny was pleased and Hermione looked at her suspiciously. The redhead just winked at her, and Hermione did not realize why she had been in a such good mood until much later that day, when a grim-looking dwarf stopped right in front of Harry.

"Oy, you! 'Arry Potter! I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person."

"Tell me she hasn't dared…" Harry sighed.

But Ginny had dared, and Harry stoically endured her beautiful poem praising his toady eyes and dark hair as Hermione and Ron collapsed with laughter.

"I've heard that we should follow as much as possible the original timeline to preserve the spatiotemporal continuum, I'm doing my part" Ginny said with a smirk when Harry confronted her afterwards.

Hermione rolled her eyes, half depressed by the fact that her friends only cared about the spatiotemporal continuum for pranks.

oOoOoOo

The rest of the year passed quietly, and Hermione even finalized her researches on resurrection rituals, finally identifying one that seemed really promising. It required Horcruxes and the Philosopher Stone, and they had both.

Towards the end of the year she watched out of the corner of her eyes Lockhart, trying to see if his behaviour was changing.

"Do you think we can do something to prevent his demise?" Hermione asked one morning during breakfast.

"His demise?" Ron asked.

"The DADA curse," Hermione reminded.

Harry groaned unconvincingly.

"I don't like Lockhart, and that's an understatement, but I think trying to fight the curse will only make it worse, so if you want to help him, you should probably continue not to interfere," Ginny said.

Hermione sighed, knowing Ginny was right. She just feared that the same way Quirrell had still ended up dead last year, Lockhart would still end up a permanent resident of St. Mungo's.

But the curse played out differently this time. On the last day of the year, at the final banquet - in Gryffindor colours this time - two Auror entered Hogwarts and asked to speak to Dumbledore, before they all disappeared with Lockhart. It was Ron who was the first one to know what had happened the next morning, when he got his copy of the Daily Prophet. He chuckled before lending them the newspaper.

"_Scam of the decade: Gilderoy Lockhart, a criminal who stole all his stories from unsuspecting wizards._"

Apparently, one of Lockhart's memory charms had not held and all his machinations had been discovered by the Aurors. Hermione smiled. Now she was nearly finding Voldemort's curse likeable.

oOoOoOo

AN: And there you are! See you next week for the third year (and the beginning of chaos).


	7. Chapter 6

Hello everyone!

Apologies for the delay.

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe with the current situation…

Regards,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 6 - July 1993 - June 1994 **

After the end of her second year at Hogwarts, Hermione went back home for two weeks, making the most of her time with her parents, before leaving for Grimmauld Place to reunite with Harry, Ron, and Ginny. And the first night she spent there, all the four of them gathered secretly in Harry's bedroom when Sirius and Remus went to bed.

"What do we do now?" Ginny asked. "We're only missing the cup to have all the Horcruxes, and you have decided which ritual to use Hermione, haven't you?"

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, still unsure they should pursue their plan.

"Do we really want to resurrect him?" she asked. "This _may_ give us access to Slytherin's books, but it's incredibly risky."

They had been preparing this for the past years, but Hermione had more and more doubts as they approached the due date.

"I know it's risky," Harry answered. "But we have no better idea to try to solve the source issue. And if we decide not to take the risk of bringing back Voldemort, then we are taking the risk of ending the wizarding world in about fifty years. And it is a far more impactful risk. At least Voldemort doesn't want to kill _all_ wizards."

More impactful, but also more distant, Hermione thought. Maybe that was why she was so reluctant? Some absurd hope that it was distant enough for them to find another way to solve it? But she knew that the root cause of her reluctance was the fact that she was the one who had initially suggested that Slytherin may have written something about the sources. And if she had been wrong...

"We all know what we're doing," Ron said as if he had followed her thoughts.

Which may have been the case. They had lived together long enough to know each other perfectly.

"And we have no other choice if we want to progress," Ron continued.

"You're right," Hermione admitted . "It's just so frustrating..."

Crookshanks suddenly rubbed its head against Hermione's hand and it dispelled some of her tension.

"You haven't answered my question Hermione," Ginny said. "You've decided on a ritual, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have," Hermione admitted. "But there is still a lot of work to refine all the details and ensure its efficiency."

Rituals were usually not as simple as most wizards believed them to be, leading to a lot of injuries to be dealt with at St-Mungo's, and lot of exasperation from mediwizards fed-up to constantly have to patch back those foolish enough to try executing rituals without thinking twice about it.

"Shouldn't we go get the cup then?" Ginny asked .

"Perhaps," Ron answered. "But we'll need to be discreet."

"Discreet? We're talking about robbing Gringotts!" Harry pointed out.

"Is it really so hard though?" Ginny asked .

Hermione stared at her pensively. The last time, they had had a goblin with them, and she had posed as Bellatrix Lestrange. But in the end, putting a goblin under the Imperium curse should be enough, provided that he was one of the goblins having access to Gringotts' most protected vaults.

"I don't know if it will be as easy this time," Ron said, also remembering their last burglary. "I mean, we had triggered very few alarms the first time, and it's pretty strange."

"Or maybe the goblins rely more on intimidation than on real wards," Harry replied. "Voldemort also managed to rob Gringotts. And he did not even need a dragon to escape. And it was with the handicap of having to control Quirrell while being a wraith."

"But the goblins noticed Voldemort's robbery," Hermione said. "And we must remain as discreet as possible in all our actions to..."

"... preserve spatiotemporal consistency, we know, we know," Ron cut in.

Hermione glared at him with exasperation. They were unbelievable. Was she really the only one to worry about the fact that if they changed things a little too much, their whole universe could just be smashed to pieces? Although for once it was not really the main reason for her objection.

"Really Ron... No, we need to remain discreet because it would be far better for us if there is no news about a burglary in Bellatrix Lestrange vault. Should I remind you that it was after our break-in the last time that Voldemort realized that we were after his Horcruxes? And even if we manage to divert the attention from Bellatrix' vault, it's still a big risk to act now. Voldemort had done nothing more than recovering during our first third year, and it would be a shame if it changed."

"What do we do then?" Ginny asked. "Is it better to risk the burglary being known, or to risk leaving the cup where it is?"

They looked at each other thoughtfully for a moment.

"Voldemort should not move too soon," Ron finally said. "As long as the events follow more or less our original timeline, we have a non-negligible advantage, and it would be stupid to lose it."

None of them wanted to lose a potential advantage vis-à-vis Voldemort.

"So, we are waiting to capture Voldemort to go after this Horcrux?" Harry asked. " I'm not sure it's a good idea. We should be able to kill Voldemort immediately after having retrieved his blood."

"After having checked that his blood would indeed allow to unlock his library," Hermione corrected. "We cannot be completely sure that having his blood would work."

Even if, if the blood did not work, Hermione had absolutely no idea what else could work. She shivered slightly. The idea of imprisoning Voldemort against his will was complete madness. If he somehow managed to escape, he would never stop trying to kill them.

"Do you need this cup for your ritual Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"No. It's better if I have it, but I can also do without it," Hermione answered.

"We will have to get the cup back before resurrecting him anyway," Ron said. "None of us want anything in our path when we will need to kill Voldemort after the ritual. But we cannot retrieve the cup too soon either. If we want to resurrect Voldemort at the end of our fourth year as we discussed multiple times, let's plan to get the cup just a few days before."

"We still need to find a way to get rid of Harry's Horcrux," Hermione pointed out.

It was even the most alarming point. They still had no conclusive idea about how to do that.

"We all need to focus our research on this Horcrux from now on," Ginny said.

That meant Hermione would have no time to look for new ways to unveil the library without Voldemort's blood. And that Ginny would have no time to look for better ways to stabilize the source. They would have no other alternative but to follow their original plan.

"Let's go to Slytherin Castle one last time," Hermione asked. "Let's try one last time to unveil the library this summer. And if we don't succeed, let's put all our efforts on Harry."

"Thank you so much," Harry deadpanned.

But the summer passed in the twinkling of an eye and despite the fact that they all spent several hours each night trying to access the books, it was all in vain. They all had years of knowledge. Harry was a wizard of impressive power. Hermione knew magic better than anyone. Ginny had a knack for outsmarting or circumventing spells and curses. And Ron always had out of the box ideas to solve a problem. But they still did not manage to unveil the books.

It was so frustrating. Hermione knew that it should have been impossible to protect a place so well - and why protect only the library if there was indeed some way to reach such level of protection? Why not protect the whole castle? Or even all Horcruxes? Although this ward oozed magic for miles, and it thus was not really discreet… but it was not really a problem if the ward was impossible to bypass! But knowing all that did not change the fact that they were unable to access the books.

They also went to check on the magical source. It was not the first time since they came back in time, as they all had been keen to verify that it showed no signs of instability yet. It seemed completely calm. Or perhaps their spells were not able to detect its current level of instability. Unfortunately, no old nor new spells gave them any promising results, much to their despair.

The night of the thirty-first of August, just before their return to Hogwarts, Hermione finally admitted they now needed to focus fully on the resurrection ritual and the removal of Harry's Horcrux.

None of the others challenged this.

oOoOoOo

The beginning of the third year was uneventful, until Remus Lupin's class on Boggarts. It was strange to see that even with all the changes they had already made, the most notable in this case being Sirius' release from Azkaban, some things still remained exactly the same. Like Remus Lupin being their third year Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Though, thanks to Sirius and Harry, the werewolf was in way better health this time around.

It was sad to know that Remus Lupin would have to leave at the end of the year, and probably once again due to the fact that Severus Snape was unable to overcome his supposed traumatic adolescence twenty years after the events, and would childishly reveal Remus Lupin's affliction. Not that Hermione did not respect Snape: the man had had a horrible life, spying on Voldemort for Dumbledore until the end, and all that for a dead girl who had never loved him, and for Harry who reminded him every day that James Potter had had what he had himself been deprived of. But that did not grant him the right to be an utter bastard to everyone on a daily basis…

A Boggart. It had been years since Hermione had encountered one. They were the kind of beings who were studied in class, but who were only found in some shady places aurors and curse breakers were dealing with. And as Hermione watched the others face the Boggart, she realized that their fears were oh so simple… Professor Snape for Neville. A blood stained mummy for Parvati. A pale imitation of a banshee for Seamus. A severed hand for Dean. And even her own old fear was laughable today. Let's face it, McGonagall telling her that she failed her exams? It was ridiculous...

But now… now there was quite a chance that Harry, Ron and herself could terrify the other with their worst fears coming alive. They had seen enough in their lives for that. They could of course have blocked the Boggart with their Occlumency wards, not letting it read their worst fears, but they had all agreed prior that it would raise questions they had no wish to answer.

Although Ron, Harry and herself were at the end of the line, too soon it was already their turn, and Ron stepped forward with fatalism. With a sound like a whip-crack the Boggart transformed and Hermione stopped breathing. In front of Ron was their daughter Rose when she was in her thirties and her figure was becoming more and more blurred, disappearing slowly before their eyes.

"You killed me," their daughter said in a sad voice. "You sacrificed me! I hate you!"

Hermione felt like her heart was breaking, but Ron recovered quickly.

"I love you Rose," Hermione heard him whisper. "Riddikulus!"

Rose's consistency became almost solid and she began to laugh and spin on herself. Before Hermione even recorded what was going on Ron moved aside and Hermione found herself in front of the Boggart. Several shouts could be heard in the room when the Boggart changed, while Hermione cannot mask her surprise. In front of her Voldemort stood regally, skin white as chalk and red eyes fixed on her.

Hermione felt quite lost for a moment, not really understanding her fear. If she had not directly faced Voldemort during her first life, she had never been afraid to stand up against his ideas, or even fight him herself if needed. But she understood what the Boggart had done when Voldemort started to talk.

"I must thank you for your help Mudblood," Voldemort said with a cruel smirk. "You gave me the wizarding world on a silver platter."

With a sharp gesture Hermione raised her wand in front of her, and Boggart-Voldemort fell to the ground, his eyes empty of all life. At the same time she felt Harry push her out of the way of the Boggart. The latter barely had time to take the shape of a Dementor that Harry was pushing him back into the wardrobe. An immense silence fell on the room and all eyes turned to Hermione.

"Great," Ron whispered ironically. "You've managed to do worse than Ginny, and that's quite a feat as she has made Voldemort's voice resonate in the room, asking to give him Harry Potter before midnight…"

Hermione glared at Ron. It was not really as if she had expected the Boggart to take this form.

"Merlin's beard Granger! What was that?" Draco Malfoy finally asked, breaking the silence.

For a few seconds Hermione strongly wanted to cast a Obliviate spell on the whole class, and especially on Remus Lupin who was looking at her strangely. But she refused to lower herself to that, and she just stormed out of the classroom, knowing that everyone was going to whisper behind her back for weeks. But she knew that she should have vanished the Boggart as soon as Voldemort appeared, and not try to satisfy her own curiosity about the Boggart's choice of shape…

oOoOoOo

The rest of the third year was quite boring. No Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, and no big arguments between Hermione and Ron about Crookshanks and Scabbers. And Hermione had even cast a silencing spell on Malfoy when he had wanted to insult Buckbeak the hippogriff, stopping all the controversy about it.

Harry and Ron had tried to limit their boredom in class by taking electives they had not chosen before, namely Runes and Arithmancy. Hermione, on the other hand, had kept only these two electives, the ones she appreciated the most, knowing that she would anyway pass all of them – except divination – for her OWLs as a free candidate.

When Hermione was not in class or rushing through her homework, she was always nose deep into books. More than Harry, Ginny, and Ron who also had to occasionally go to Quidditch training sessions, Ron as substitute keeper – he had finally wanted to play before his fifth year –. It was needless to say that once again Gryffindor's Quidditch team was no match for the others. Hermione would have protested more about the unfairness of all this if it was not one of the only things that was making her friends positively thrilled. The fact that it irritated Draco Malfoy quite thoroughly was only a plus.

And Hermione was secretly glad that from time to time she had an excuse to go outside, reading on the Quidditch stands while her friends were training. For six years she had spent her free time diving into books dealing with very dark magic, and she was starting to be more and more afraid not to ever get out of this situation. There was this resurrection ritual she needed to finalize, and she still had not found any acceptable solution for the issue with Harry's Horcrux.

Nor her, nor her friends had found anything about how to deal with the Horcrux. At least not without sacrificing Harry. There was Lord Voldemort's Avada Kedavra solution, but seriously, what were the chances of him casting an Avada Kedavra at Harry at the right time? It was a miracle that it had worked in their original life…

Hermione would have thought that it was simpler to transfer an Horcruxe, that she would need to look into it for a few weeks and that would be that. But she had clearly underestimated the difficulty.

"You know, maybe you'd find more answers in the light than in the dark," she heard a singing voice right next to her.

From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Luna sit just to her right, the blond girl also coming to watch Harry, Ron and Ginny train with the Gryffindor team.

"What are you talking about Luna?" Hermione asked wearily.

"Since the first day I met you, you seem to be looking into dark magic books, why are you limiting yourself to those?"

Hermione's eyes wavered for a moment between Luna and the grimoire of black magic she held in her hands. The latter was normally enchanted to appear as "_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3_", a reading far less reprehensible than "_Extrapolation of the Darkest Theories_", banned by the Ministry of Magic since 1851. Bureaucratic idiots, all of them.

"It's the Onirolies," Luna said. "They find solace in dark magic you know, and they fly quite frequently around your books."

Hermione nodded slowly. It would take years before Luna could better control this strange sensitivity to magic she was one of few wizards to have. In her past life, Hermione had met only two other persons with such a gift, even though this gift was just as much a curse, leaving the affected wizards quite isolated from the others, living in a world they were the only ones to see.

Hermione made a note to offer to Luna Empedocles' book for her next birthday. Beyond all philosophical books the author had written for Muggles, he had also written a quite interesting treaty on how to deal with this sensitivity he had himself experienced.

"I'm trying to find a cure for some extremely dark magic, that's why my readings are not very varied," Hermione finally stated.

"Luna's not wrong then. It's not because it's a dark magic curse that you would find the cure in some dark magic book," Neville interjected.

Hermione repressed a jump, having forgotten that the calm young man was there too. Neville did not seem shocked by the fact that she was talking about dark magic, and she wondered if it was just because he was her friend and he somehow trusted her, or if he and Luna suspected more things than they should have.

Neville's suggestion was sensible of course, but the only mentions that Hermione had found about Horcruxes were all in awful cursed books that regularly gave her nausea, not because of the stupid curses on them, but mostly due to the atrocities the books themselves described. Dark magic was interesting, there was no denying that, but it was definitely not healthy.

However, since the summer after her first year at Hogwarts, Hermione had recovered a multitude of books from her hidden library, the one she had discovered when they were all searching for information about the sources in the twenty thirties, and which contained an incredible amount of rare and potentially useful books. Light magic books. And if Hermione had not found anything inside those about magical sources or advanced blood wards, maybe she would find something that could help with Harry's Horcrux.

"You're right, it's time for me to try something else," she admitted.

Visibly satisfied, Luna turned away from her to follow Ginny and Harry with her eyes as they were trying to intertwine far too dangerous Quidditch figures.

"As soon as they'll be fifteen, all the professional teams will try to recruit them," Neville said.

"As long as this does not encourage even more irresponsibility," Hermione muttered.

Hermione hoped that by the fifteenth birthday of her friends, they would have solved all their problems regarding Voldemort and uncontrollable magical sources. And that the situation will not be the same as during their first life, with Voldemort back and Dolores Umbridge attempting to take control of Hogwarts by torturing the students. And Hermione was ready to do whatever it took to never have Umbridge set one foot in Hogwarts. This woman was worse than Voldemort.

Hermione had tried with Harry to dismantle the curse that had been placed on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, wanting to prevent Remus from being forced to leave at the end of the year. But none of them was an expert curse breaker, and this curse was certainly one that was quite difficult to get around, with bothersome prerequisites. For example, for Hogwarts not to be led by Albus Dumbledore for a whole year, and making this happening was absolutely out of the question.

oOoOoOo

Harry regularly checked on Voldemort's thoughts, and he gathered them together one night in the middle of May to announce that the Dark Lord was up to something.

"Voldemort's trying to call his Death Eaters to him," Harry announced blankly.

"What?" Ginny reacted. "How?"

"Don't know, some compulsion via the Dark Mark I suppose," Harry answered. "He's probing the mind of his remaining Death Eater's currently, looking for someone he could easily manipulate."

"That's why Peter Pettigrew had joined him in Albania!" Hermione exclaimed. "It was so strange for him to do that, he always was such a coward… but he had been pushed to, that's why!"

At least now Hermione knew why the rat animagus had done that.

"But Pettigrew's in Azkaban, in a cell designed to hold in aminagi," Ron said. "He won't be able to join his master, and Voldemort probably knows it. So who is he calling?"

"Macnair I think," Harry said. "Few days ago it was Avery."

The four friends exchanged a panicked glance.

"We cannot let this happen," Ron stated. "Voldemort will be far more dangerous with a Death Eater."

"We're losing control," Ginny pointed out. "Who knows what Macnair or Avery will do once they will be with Voldemort?"

"It's not out of control yet," Harry tempered. "Voldemort's only probing their minds for the moment. He has not yet pushed one of them to join him in Albania."

Ginny seemed slightly relieved.

"Why is he acting now? Had he started to have his body back?" Hermione asked. "I mean the homunculus body he had inhabited before his resurrection, not his real body of course."

Harry stared into space for a moment, before blinking and nodding slowly. A wave of panic overwhelmed Hermione. It was too early. Voldemort was not supposed to find his ersatz of body until the end of the summer... and they had supposed that even then, he would have stayed helpless, not able to do anything without the help of Pettigrew, until they would come to give him a real body back, the blood of the homunculus not having the same properties as real blood.

"We're going to need to do the ritual this summer," Ron said. "We can't let him call his Death Eaters to him. If we let someone else resurrect him, there is a risk we will not be able to take a sample of his blood."

"But we don't know what to do with Harry's Horcrux," Ginny said with a hint of panic in her voice.

Hermione looked at her notes in front of her. Despite Luna's and Neville's advice they had not found a solution. Not even some hints about what could be a solution.

"Is it hopeless?" Harry asked, looking at her.

Hermione sighed.

"We haven't progressed in months," she said. "Everything we had found had led to dead ends, and I do not know if I would be able to find anything by the end of the year. And if we have Voldemort back with you still hosting his Horcrux, you won't be able to be in his presence due to the pain in your scar."

To Hermione utmost despair Harry seemed more determined than deterred by this information.

"But if he makes me suffer, I'll make him suffer too, won't I? And it's a rather positive thing."

"Out of the question," Ginny interjected. "And if I remember well, he seemed to suffer only when you touched him, or when he possessed you. He'll make you suffer far more than what you'll make him suffer."

Harry and Ginny exchanged a long look, visibly measuring the strength of their respective wills, until Harry finally lowered his eyes. Hermione had always found it amusing that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the vanquisher of Voldemort, Order of Merlin first class, and most famous personality of the magical world was still wary of Ginny Weasley's temper.

"Isn't it possible to do something about that?" Ron asked. "I don't really think it's a good idea to have one of us incapacitated if we need to fight."

"I won't be incapacitated!" Harry protested immediately. "I've fought against him multiple times, even with the pain! In the graveyard..."

"You managed to escape thanks to the tournament cup and the Priori Incantatem," Ron retorted.

"And in the fifth year!"

"Dumbledore was the one who really fought Voldemort."

"At the Battle of Hogwarts!"

"You only exchanged one spell with him and you were the master of the Elder Wand!"

This time it was Harry and Ron who glared at each other.

"What are you trying to prove to Ron?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"That he had ... That we all had been lucky," Ron answered. "And we cannot rely only on our luck. Do you really think you can duel effectively against Voldemort with your scar ablaze Harry?"

"Occlumency should protect me, shouldn't it?"

Hermione shook her head.

"The pain is not linked to your mind, but to the Horcrux itself," she explained. "Remember two years ago with Quirrell, you still experienced some pain from time to time."

Hermione noticed that none of them were questioning Voldemort's resurrection at the end of the year. Even though Harry still had the Horcrux. But it was true that they could still cast an Avada Kedavra at Lord Voldemort, incapacitating him again for a number of years, giving themselves more time to find a solution. She thought for a moment about suggesting to ask Dumbledore for help, but she discarded the idea quickly, not wanting Dumbledore to know that Harry was an Horcrux, nor that they were trying to resurrect Voldemort.

"If it is indeed true, then why had Nagini never suffered from his presence?" Harry asked.

"That's a very good question," Ginny agreed.

Hermione was startled for a moment, never having really thought about that. Why the hell had Harry and Voldemort suffered from the connection and not Nagini? She quickly listed the differences between the two situations.

"Aha!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

"Thirteen seconds, not bad," Ron commented.

Hermione looked at him reprovingly.

"The Horcrux is not the problem, not on his own," she explained. "The problem is your mother's protection Harry, interacting with the Horcrux when it is trying to act out in Voldemort's presence. The two magic are incompatible and seek to destroy each other, without any success, the Horcrux because it's too powerful, and your mother's magic because it is linked with you."

"It makes sense," Harry agreed.

"Is there a way to prevent that?" Ginny asked.

This time it took a lot longer for Hermione to find an answer.

"It should be possible to separate the two magic. Set up a barrier between them. But Voldemort will then be able to touch you without suffering if I isolate your mother's magic."

"Can't you isolate the Horcrux' magic instead?" Harry muttered.

"No, that would be catastrophic," Hermione replied. "The Horcrux' magic is outward-oriented by nature. If I confine it in you, it may try to control you."

Harry and Ginny turned pale at the end of her sentence, and Harry reluctantly agreed to isolate his mother's magic.

oOoOoOo

It took Hermione slightly less than a week to find a solution, and then she performed the separation ritual. The split between Harry's mother's magic and the Horcrux' one went fine, except that it seemed to increase the bond between Harry and Voldemort. If Harry wanted to, he could now find himself in Voldemort's thoughts in a split second. He did not do it often though, much to Hermione's relief. According to Harry the Dark Lord's thoughts were too distressing, too violent for him to be subjected to them for more than a few seconds.

There were only a few weeks left until the end of the year, and Hermione was now fully focused on finalizing the resurrection ritual and recovering the more than illegal ingredients she needed, sometimes going out of Hogwarts overnight.

The end-of-year ceremony seemed to go by too fast, and despite Gryffindor's victory, for Quidditch and the House Cup, Hermione had a bad feeling. And when they were all four in the Hogwarts Express, it seems liked they were sailing for the deep blue see instead of going back home.

"We'll have to do the ritual tonight," Ron said. "This will leave us all summer to consult the books in Slytherin Castle's library."

"And to react if anything goes wrong," Ginny added.

"We must first catch Voldemort," Hermione reminded. "Do you know what he is currently doing Harry?"

Harry concentrated for a moment before answering them.

"He's still in Albania, with Nagini."

"No Death Eater with him?" Ron asked.

"No, none," Harry answered.

"Good," Ron said. "In this case Ginny and I will take care of the cup in Gringotts, while you prepare the resurrection ritual with Hermione. Then we'll all go fetch Voldemort. Let's meet at Riddle Manor tonight."

They all agreed.

"We'll start at eleven pm," Harry indicated.

oOoOoOo

AN: I'll post the next chapter in about 10 days.


	8. Chapter 7

Hi everyone,

As always, thanks for the reviews, favs and follows.

I hope you are enjoying the story :)

Have a nice day and stay safe,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 7 - July 1994 **

Hermione leaped with assurance from one branch to another, progressing rapidly through the forest until she reached the edge, just before the start of Riddle Manor's park. She spotted immediately the three people waiting below her, and she jumped at their feet. Immediately Harry's wand was pointed at her, before he recognized her animagus form.

"Couldn't you Apparate here directly?" Harry mumbled.

Hermione changed back and smiled smugly at him. She knew Harry hated the idea that her animagus form was much more discreet and practical than his own, despite his lion animagus being the spitting image of Gryffindor's emblem.

"I came earlier for a bit of reconnaissance," Hermione answered. "Everything's quiet around, the house itself is empty, and I put the gardener under a bewitched sleep for the whole night."

"We should cast our glamour spells now," Ginny said. "Just in case."

It was a sound precaution, and they of course agreed. The four of them took out small potion vials from their robes and took a sip of the aging potion prepared by Hermione. Seconds after they looked like they were about twenty years old. As soon as her body finished to age, Hermione raised her wand and cast a series of glamour spells on herself. She was now mastering them quite well, as she had needed them frequently in the past years to sneak around undetected. Her hair took a lighter shade, her face lengthened slightly and she seemed to lose a few pounds. Once she had finished her spells, she inspected the appearances of her friends.

Ginny now had medium-length brown hair, thinner lips and darker skin. Harry had swapped his so characteristic green gaze for common brown eyes, his jaw was now less square and some hair was expertly hiding his scar. Ron had some aristocratic features that were not without reminding Malfoy, although his hair was brown and his eyes a muddy shade of green.

On top of their new appearances, they also had each prepared an alias. Ginny was Virginia. Ron, Ralph. Harry, Hadrian. And Hermione, Helen. As for their appearances, they were convinced that the best lies contained some truth, and all had kept names close to the originals in case one of them had a slip at some point.

"Your glamours look fine," Hermione said. "No one should be able to recognize you."

Her voice was also slightly different, and it was as always what she found the most disturbing. As if someone else was speaking every time she opened her mouth.

"Same for you, Helen ," Ron said.

"Do we keep our main wands or do we use the spare ones?" Ginny asked.

Hermione had a quick thought for her mangrove tree wood and Rougarou hair wand, carefully hidden in one of the pockets of her robe.

"Let's keep our main wands, we wouldn't want to be at a disadvantage if any issue arose," Ron answered. "They are anyway tricked to never display the real spells we used, so they would be the best ally we can have in case of a duel."

Ron was the only one of them to always have three wands with him, the first one that Hermione had given him after her trip to Knockturn Alley, Charlie's old wand, and his main wand that Harry had bought him in the summer before the second year, stopping Molly Weasley's objections with quite convincing doe eyes.

"Let's start then," Harry stated. "Ralph and Virginia, good luck. Helen, our destination is right in front of us."

The four of them exchanged a last look, and all went on their way.

oOoOoOo

"Can I help you one way or another?" Harry asked.

He was leaning against one of the walls of Riddle Manor's living room, nervously watching Hermione draw numerous runes on the floor.

"Not really, no," Hermione answered without raising her head. "You do have the few drops of the Philosopher's Stone Elixir of Life, don't you?"

"Yes Helen, I do," Harry confirmed.

His tone was terse, and for good reason: Hermione was almost certain that she had asked the same question several times before. She did not bother to comment. They both were a little too nervous about what they were going to do, and she anyway needed all her concentration for what she was currently doing.

A slight tingling sound was heard, and for the first time in the past two hours Hermione raised her head from the runes she was tracing, all her senses alert.

"Probably Virginia and Ralph, I'll go take a look," Harry said.

Hermione nodded and watched him exit the room warily. Despite the strong probability that it would indeed be their friends, she did not continue her work and moved to one of the corners of the room, her wand in her hand. She relaxed only when Harry, Ron and Ginny entered the room.

"The Cup?" Hermione asked.

"In my bag," Ginny answered with a wide smile.

"Have you left any trace of your presence in Gringotts?" Harry asked.

"We shouldn't have left any," Ron replied with assurance. "And if unfortunately they ever find a clue of our presence they can only draw the wrong conclusions. We had robbed sixteen other vaults on top of the Lestranges' one."

"Sixteen vaults?" Harry repeated with disbelief. "Are you completely mad?"

"That's a smokescreen, and a quite good one if I may," Ginny justified. "These seventeen families have at least one thing in common, their ancestors have all received a golden Tudor Rose awarded by Henry VII for their contribution to the Wars of the Roses. We have recovered all the roses that actually were in the vaults."

Hermione looked thoughtfully at Ginny. She was vaguely aware of the story of these golden roses, but she had had no idea which families were now owning them. But it was probably the kind of story that was told in pureblood families.

"And if anyone makes any inquiries, they'll think that's the reason for your burglary. It's indeed a good smokescreen," Hermione agreed.

Harry seemed less happy with their way of proceeding, and he even pointed an accusing finger at Ginny and Ron.

"Wait, don't tell me that you robbed the Potters' vault?" he asked menacingly.

Ginny looked at him apologetically.

"It would have been too suspicious to rob all the vaults except this one," she said.

Harry grumbled something that sounded vaguely like a curse towards all redheads in general and Ginny and Ron in particular.

"Have you finished here?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked at the multiple runes drawn on the floor.

"Not quite," she said. "I still have to finish Seth's circle, and ward the manor just in case."

"You're using Seth's circle?" Ginny asked, her disbelief quite evident. "But it is supposed to be..."

"Incredibly unstable, I know," Hermione snapped.

The two girls winced and Hermione apologized. She was not really in the mood to be reminded about the complexity of what she was trying to do.

"In that case, it would be better for us to go fetch Voldemort while you're finishing the ritual," Ron said.

Hermione hesitated for a moment. She did not really want to leave her three friends alone with Voldemort. Even if he was still only a mere shadow of what he really was. But it was more reluctance to part from them than a fear for their lives if she was honest. And she would be much more useful if she continued her runes rather than by accompanying them.

"All right," she agreed. "But don't take any unnecessary risk. And don't underestimate Nagini."

Few seconds after they were out of the room, and Hermione focused anew on the ritual preparation.

oOoOoOo

When her friends finally came back, Hermione was on the verge of an anxiety attack. Of course she knew that it would take time for them to go to Albania and come back. Of course she trusted them. But once the ritual runes were finalized, and the wards around the manor cast, there had been nothing left to distract her, and staying alone in Riddle Manor was hardly a pleasant experience.

She felt relieved when she saw Ginny, Ron, and Harry enter the living room, Harry levitating in front of him what seemed to be a bundle of rags the size of a small child.

"It's ... him?" Hermione asked, feeling strangely intimidated to have Voldemort so close to them.

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

His face was reflecting something between repugnance and pity.

"Did you got his wand too?" Hermione checked.

"No," Ginny answered. "It wasn't there. And Hadrian claims he never saw him use it, so we think he just never recovered it."

"But… he had gotten his wand back the last time, how's that?" Hermione asked.

"Probably Pettigrew ," Ron shrugged.

Hermione thoughtfully turned her wand between her fingers. Yes, it could be that Voldemort had forced Pettigrew to get him his wand, wherever it was.

"How should we proceed?" Harry asked curtly, stopping Hermione's and Ron's chatter.

"Place the diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, and the diadem in the small circles, in that order. Each of you will then step on one of the branches here, there and there, with Hadrian in the middle. And for him… put him in the centre."

They complied and Hermione had to hold back a jolt of disgust when Harry removed the cloak wrapped around Voldemort's body. A deformed child body, seemingly covered with blood, breathing with difficulty. At least he was unconscious, thanks Merlin for small mercies.

"What have you done with Nagini?" Hermione asked.

She saw Ron look angrily at Harry who ignored him.

"We just Stupefied her," Harry answered. "There was no need to kill her. She's not responsible for Voldemort's actions."

Hermione went around the different runes one last time, checking that the seven catalysts, five Horcruxes and three wizards were all in place. Then she took the vial containing the Philosopher's Stone Elixir of Life in her left hand, raised her wand in her right hand and began the ritual that should return Lord Voldemort to his former glory, while destroying his Horcruxes.

oOoOoOo

Before their eyes the air began to spin around Voldemort, becoming more and more opaque, darker also, and nearly suffocating. It seemed to plunge into the mutilated body of the darkest wizard of all times, and they saw him begin to transform, his body growing rapidly.

"Stupefy!" Harry cast.

He had cast it a little too early, even before the ritual was completely finished, but Hermione could not really blame him. The darkened air turned into steam before dissipating, and they observed the stupefied body of Voldemort lying on the floor just before them.

"Wow, your ritual is quite efficient Helen, he looks a lot better than the last time. Well done," Ron congratulated with sarcasm.

Indeed, the man in front of them had nothing of the snake-like monster they had faced the previous time. Tall, dark-haired, with so well designed aristocratic features that it was unnerving, Voldemort's body seemed almost too perfect.

"It's his real body," Ginny murmured with fear.

Hermione looked at Voldemort more closely, and noticed that Ginny was right. The man looked a lot like the teenage Tom Riddle, whose pictures she had seen in Hogwarts' archives, with perhaps fifteen more years. And that did not reassure Hermione at all. She knew her ritual was not the same as the one originally used, so it was expected for the results to be slightly different, but she was now wondering what else was different for his appearance to have changed so much.

But that was of no importance in reality, because the situation was only temporary. As soon as she will have managed to tore down Slytherin Castle's library wards, they would reduce Voldemort to a mere wraith again.

"Let's not waste any time," Harry said. "Helen, take what you need and make sure it was worth it. We will stay here and wait for your signal to kill him, at least temporary."

Quickly, Hermione approached Voldemort and neatly slashed his left wrist, collecting the blood in one vial. She closed the wound and cleaned all traces of blood, before stealing some hair too, her shaking hands making it far more difficult than it should have been.

She paused for a moment as her eyes landed on Ravenclaw's diadem, and she frowned. She thought the ritual would destroy the containers at the same time as the Horcruxes. She carefully picked up the diadem, then the cup, then the locket, and stopped again when she reached the ring. This one had been reduced to dust, with the exception of the Resurrection Stone. Looking slightly up towards the next circle Hermione saw that there was nothing left of the diary.

"There was an issue with the ritual," Hermione said anxiously. "Something didn't go as planned. The ring and the diary are destroyed, but not the locket, the cup, nor the diadem. This is not normal."

Harry approached and retrieved the three founder relics and the little black stone from her hands, and glanced quickly at Voldemort.

"He seems quite alive though," Harry said curtly.

"But there must be something that has not worked correctly," Hermione panicked. "The ritual shouldn't have destroyed only half of the Horcruxes."

"They're not Horcruxes anymore," Ron pointed out.

He had been casting several spells on the objects for the past few minutes. But the fact that they were no longer Horcruxes did not explain why the diary and the ring had been the only ones to be reduced to dust.

"That doesn't change the plan," Harry decided. "Helen, you need to start moving. We will solve this problem when we won't have a Dark Lord to watch."

Hermione nodded. He was right. It was more urgent to deal with the library.

"I'm on my way. I'll keep you informed through the notebooks as soon as I break the wards."

Harry, Ron, and Ginny nodded, their wands pointed resolutely at Voldemort, and Hermione got out of Riddle Manor before Apparating to Slytherin Castle.

oOoOoOo

Hidden among the shadows, invisible and undetectable, Death looked at her alleged master and his unruly black hair. Even with potions and spells, he could not hide his true identity from her. Not when he was not under the Cloak. Without the Deathly Hallows he was nothing more than a banal wizard with scandalous luck.

He had been back for years. It had been years since he had gotten his friends back in time with him out of her. And during all those years, nothing remarkable had happened. A total boredom. But that night Death felt that something important was happening. Something that would really change the timeline. Something that would finally give her some well-deserved distraction.

Everything was still for the moment, and Death wondered if she should not push Fate a little. If she should not make the events move a little faster. But just then, there was an imperceptible change in the atmosphere, and Death smiled. Finally things were moving forward.

oOoOoOo

When Lord Voldemort regained consciousness he immediately noticed that he was lying on a hard surface. His last memories came back to him and he forced himself to maintain the most perfect immobility, knowing for the moment nothing about his environment. He had been attacked while he was possessing Nagini. The connection with his snake had been abruptly broken, meaning that someone had attacked his homunculus. It was a quite annoying information. Who had managed to find him? And why had he been attacked?

Then Lord Voldemort noticed another strange thing. He felt he had a body. A real body. A human one. A sensation he had not felt for almost thirteen years. And his thoughts also seemed to have never been so clear. And his magic... he could feel it swarming under his skin. Powerful and wanting to be used.

Someone had performed a ritual on him, to give him his body back. He thought first of the Death Eaters he had probed in the recent weeks, but quickly dismissed the idea. He had not started to really call them, they would not have been able to find his hideout without further help. And none would have known what ritual to perform. But then, who had dared to do this without his consent? And again, why?

"Any news?" asked a feminine voice.

He had been right to stay immobile. He was not alone. There were at least two other persons near him, and for now he knew nothing about them. Except that they had probably something to do with him having a new body.

"No, not for the moment."

It was a male voice that had answered this time. Lord Voldemort did not recognize either of them. He then heard the sound of creasing fabrics, betraying the movement of one of the persons. If he had had his wand, he would not have hesitated to attack and kill them right now. But he did not have his wand right now. It must still be hidden somewhere, probably at Godric's Hollow, protected by a charm that made it visible only to him or his followers if ever it was torn off him while he was still alive.

He probably should have recovered it when he was possessing Quirrell, but his only goal was then the Philosopher's Stone. It was kind of strange nonetheless that he had not thought about recovering his wand at that time. It hardly looked like him not to take into account all the details of a situation. This wandering had visibly lessened his mental faculties more than what he had previously guessed. But that was not the time to dwell on that.

Even though Lord Voldemort did not have his wand, he could still easily escape his captors. He would then come back and kill those reckless idiots later. After making them confess everything they knew. Focusing on his surroundings, Voldemort concluded that there should be three of them, about four meters away from him. The temperature was relatively cool so it had to be the night. Unless they were in a place protected from the sun. Or unless he was no longer in Albania.

"What is taking her so long? She should have contacted us already!"

It was the third person, a different man. And they were obviously waiting for information from a fourth person. He really should not linger here. Fighting against three or four wizards with their wands while he was himself wandless was not really on his top priorities right now. He would win, he had no doubt about that, but it would not be easy. Especially with this body that seemed both familiar and foreign to him. Was it because he had lost the habit those past thirteen years? Or was this body different from the one he had used since the seventies?

Hoping that they were not watching him too closely, Voldemort began to chant an incantation for him to Apparate through anti-apparition wards. Few could master such enchantments without a wand, but it was not an issue for him. After all, was he not the most powerful wizard of all times? A wizard the other wizards were even too afraid of to say the name aloud.

Lord Voldemort reached the end of his incantation, opened his eyes so he could then re-Apparate to the same place, and at the same time made a sudden movement to Apparate away. Violently colliding into another ward.

"Stupefy!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expulso!"

Voldemort moved briskly and narrowly avoided the three spells, astonished by the speed at which his assailants had reacted. And by the use of an Avada Kedavra. Those were not allies then. He moved fluidly behind a couch, quite angry at the thought of having been caught by an Erebus ward. Because it could have only been an Erebus ward to block his incantation.

One of his enemies at least was not to be taken lightly. Erecting such a ward was far from common, and was borderline dark magic. There was a new volley of spells and Lord Voldemort started to chant another incantation. A few seconds later he was invisible.

"No!" one of them yelled.

"Hominum Revelio!" the only girl cast.

But his camouflage was far more advanced than this spell, and only their own three forms brightened slightly. Voldemort realized at that moment that they actually were in the living room of Riddle Manor. The manor of his unworthy paternal family in Yorkshire. Who were these people? How could they know this manor? His connection with it? And why come to get him in Albania, give him a body back, and then try to throw Avada Kedavras at him?

"Oh my god, Helen's gonna kill us," muttered one of the guys.

"If it's not Voldemort," the girl replied acidly, her eyes still searching the room carefully.

They dared to use his name! Lord Voldemort glanced at them one last time, engraving their face and wands in his memory, and, using another charm to stay undetectable, slipped out of the room and out of the manor, before finally Apparating away.

oOoOoOo

Hermione was cursing loudly in Slytherin Castle's library. She had tried several spells, several rituals, but nothing worked. Even with Voldemort's blood. And Harry had already disabled all the wards that were in Parseltongue. What could the dark wizard have put in place to protect his precious library so well? She had his blood, his hair, and the approval of the castle thanks to Harry! How was it possible that she did not manage to open the access to the books? It was almost insulting.

"It's utter nonsense!" she grumbled.

She could not fail. Not with everything they had done to get there. She had to find a way to access this library, and quickly. Harry, Ron and Ginny would not be able to watch Voldemort forever. And the night was already well advanced.

Suddenly her charms detecting intruders were triggered and she moved briskly, concealing with a quick wand movement the runes that covered the library and moving in an area with a perfect view of the entrance. There could be only two types of people who could come here right now. Her friends, or Voldemort. And if in neither cases it would be good news, she still preferred the intruders to be her friends.

She heard a cavalcade and relaxed slightly. Voldemort would have never made so much noise. But the presence of her friends and their haste raised many questions, one of the most important being what could justify that they went against the plan. A few seconds later Harry, Ron and Ginny tumbled into the library, their wands raised, looking for her.

"How did we became friends?" Hermione asked as she emerged from the shadows.

"Fighting a troll," Harry – _Hadrian_ – replied.

They all simultaneously cast discretion spells.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked .

"He managed to escape," Harry said.

Hermione's brain stopped, and for few seconds she was not even able to breath properly.

"Are you kidding me?"

The defeated faces of her friends assured her that no, they were not, and Hermione suddenly felt completely depressed. Before the panic took over.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"No idea. Not here it seems," Ron replied.

But Hermione did not pay attention to Ron and kept her gaze fixed on Harry, who shook his head.

"How can you not know where he is Hadrian?" Hermione asked , her voice laced with anguish.

Since they had been back, Harry had always been able to locate Voldemort through the Horcrux in his scar, and it was the only Horcrux she had not destroyed in the ritual not to risk the life of her friend.

"His mind is occluded. I have no idea what he thinks or where he can be right now."

Hermione could feel the desperation in Harry's voice, and she knew that he must feel strangely lost to no longer feel a distant echo of Voldemort's life.

"He had not been aware of your connection until the middle of the fifth year last time, hadn't he?" Hermione asked carefully. "How can he be aware of it now?"

"I don't think he specifically blocks me, Helen. I think he's blocking everything."

Hermione had to force herself to breathe calmly to regain control of the terror that was trying to submerge her. Her ritual had changed too many things. Voldemort had woken up much earlier than they had calculated. And obviously much more alert. And they had no way of knowing what would be his exact next actions.

"We have to put our own wards here, he will necessarily pass by Slytherin Castle, and it's probably our best chance to find him," Ginny said.

Hermione resolutely cast aside her anguished torpor and approved Ginny's proposition. Both girls began to work on it, while Harry and Ron continued to discuss in one of the corners, carefully monitoring the entrance of the library. Hermione's hands were shaking slightly, and she was trying hard to focus on the different rituals and not to think about the disaster that would happen very, very, soon.

"Should we add a Kashgar charm?" Ginny asked.

"It won't be discreet enough for him I think," Hermione replied. "I will rather try one of Melvure's alterations."

"That would take us hours," Ginny sighed.

"Can you take a break before you start then?" Harry intervened. "We need to talk."

The two girls looked up at Harry and Ron. All were quite serious, knowing that the situation could degenerate very quickly. They had some assets on their side. The blood and hair of the dark wizard. The Philosopher's Stone. A far more extensive knowledge of Voldemort's places of residence and his Death Eaters that the Dark Lord could ever imagine. The benefit of anonymity too, at least for now.

"There are many things we need to do," Ron said. "We need to be sure that Dumbledore has been warned by Snape, that he is ready to fight if needed."

"I'll try to get this information from Sirius," Harry said.

"We can't do anything about the Death Eaters that had been found not guilty, like Malfoy. Voldemort may have already called them all. But we have to make sure we are warned if something happens in Azkaban," Ron continued.

Hermione nodded. It was absolutely out of the question to have Bellatrix Lestrange and her acolytes once again ravaging the country. This would lead to a lot of deaths as it had been the case the first time around.

"Any ideas how to do that?" Harry asked.

"Some," Ginny replied. "With Hermione we should be able to do it. Melvure again?"

"Yes," Hermione replied. "But probably another alteration, I'll need to think about it a few minutes."

"When do you think you can do that?" Ron asked.

"Not tonight, we have to finish here first, but the next one should be fine," Ginny said.

If like the last time Voldemort tried not to advertise too much his own resurrection, he would not act so fast anyway.

"We also need to watch this place if we want to be able to catch him, someone should always be here," Ron said.

"And also at Riddle Manor, no?" Ginny asked.

Ron shook his head.

"We won't be able to constantly watch Slytherin Castle and Riddle Manor at the same time," he said. "Not with our parents, Sirius and Remus constantly on our backs. And he may have already come back to Riddle Manor, setting his own wards there... Slytherin Castle is more suitable. He will inevitably come here one time or another, and that would be our only chance to kill him."

Hermione shook her head, and took a long breath.

"We cannot kill him," she said. "Not yet. I have been unable to access the books here. We have to wait for him, true, but to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Harry exclaimed. "With him? It's madness!"

"The books were the reason why we had given Voldemort his body back," Hermione said, glaring at him. "Our goal is not him, but to prevent the magical source eruption in fifty years. Killing him now is unfortunately not our priority. Not until we get Slytherin's books."

oOoOoOo

Albus Dumbledore looked up from the letter he was reading when Severus Snape entered briskly in his office. When Albus had been awaken by his alarms warning him that someone was heading to his office around six o'clock in the morning, he had gotten up with resignation, and had begun to re-read an important letter while waiting for his Slytherin's head of house to arrive.

The professor's livid complexion immediately caught his attention, as did his haggard eyes.

"He came back Albus," Severus said.

In the same movement he lifted his left sleeve and showed Albus the Dark Mark that was moving on his arm. It radiated energy and malice, and it almost seemed to mock Albus' apprehensive gaze.

"Since when?" Albus asked warily.

"It started burning four hours ago. Gently, then more and more surely. I came as soon as I could."

Severus began pacing in front of his desk, visibly agitated.

"They will have felt it. The Death Eaters, all of them. Lucius. The Lestrange. Avery. Nott. Dolohov. It's a disaster Albus."

"It's far from good news," Albus agreed. "I will gather the Order back. And try to talk to Cornelius."

Severus snorted disdainfully, but Albus did not react. Even though his opinion of the Minister of Magic was becoming worse with each passing year, Albus still had to warm him to prepare for the war that would undoubtedly happen .

"Severus," Dumbledore said calmly.

Severus turned his eyes to him, looking haunted, and Albus hated himself for what he was going to ask of him. But if Voldemort was actually back, they can not do without Severus' help.

"You know what I must ask you to do. If he calls you… if you are ready…"

Severus's face immediately became an impassive mask, hiding from the headmaster what he was really thinking of going back to spy on Voldemort.

"I am," Severus said.

"Thank you Severus."

Severus swept wordlessly out of his office. Albus' gaze wandered on Fawkes, currently a young fledgling who chirped some sad notes, and Albus sighed. He had wished for that day to never come. But since the disappearance of the Philosopher's Stone he had known that his wish would not come true.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort looked disdainfully at the ruins right in front of him. So no one had taken care of repairing the former house of the Potters. Or perhaps the wizards had wanted to honour the Potters and had let the ruins as a token of their supposed courage? It was something Voldemort could never understand. How could some ruins represent anything, especially courage, when two wizards had been killed there? Easily killed even, as none of them had even put up a real fight. Too bad Harry Potter had not been as easy to kill.

Green sparks shouted out of the wand Voldemort had discreetly stolen from a witch less than ten minutes ago. Thinking about Harry Potter always made him want to destroy something. But he would take care of the boy afterwards. In the first place, he needed to recover his faithful yew wand. Then he would see. There was Potter of course. But also Dumbledore. Slytherin Castle. Nagini. His Death Eaters. The Ministry of Magic. Yes, Lord Voldemort had a lot of things to take care of.

oOoOoOo

AN: And here it is, Voldemort is back :)


	9. Chapter 8

Hi everyone!

Thank you for your reviews :)

I hope you still enjoy the story.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 8 - July 1994 **

The first day Hermione spent in Slytherin Castle went extremely slow. There was the weariness of the all-nighter she had just pulled off, of course, but it was especially the anxiety that was burdening her. She had taken refuge in what had probably been a small but refined sitting room at some point in time, not too far away from the library. The sitting room main advantage was its fireplace, that the four friends had illegally connected to Grimmauld Place and the Burrow.

Hermione could not decide if she would rather have Voldemort arrive quickly, even if it meant she would have to face him sooner, or if she would rather have him taking his time to come here. Because she knew she would be the one who would do most of the surveillance at Slytherin Castle. Sirius, Remus and Molly Weasley were communicating too often together for Harry, Ron or Ginny to pretend to visit each other for long without anyone noticing their disappearance. Especially as Sirius had just taken some days off to spend more time with Harry. Whereas Hermione's Muggle parents had no way of knowing that she was not with her friends, but rather camping in the castle of the most powerful dark wizard in centuries. Who hated Muggleborns with a passion.

Harry had sent her earlier some innocent books from the Blacks' library. Nothing in connection with magical sources, nor Horcruxes in case anyone found them. But Hermione was not able to concentrate enough to read anything. In addition to her fatigue and anguish she was always under the disguise of Helen, and aging potions prevented the ingestion of any other potions, even something as simple as a Pepper-Up.

They had had a heated debate about staying as their persona during the surveillance period, aging potions being toxic if taken too frequently, but Hermione had argued that they could not afford to reveal their true appearances to Voldemort. Especially if they wanted to have any chance to negotiate with him. And since Hermione was not one hundred percent certain that Voldemort would trigger the wards they had cast with Ginny, she needed to stay transformed all the time she spent in Slytherin Castle.

Hermione shuddered slightly, imagining Voldemort suddenly appearing right in front of her. She could have predicted what the Voldemort they knew would have done. Frantic yells. Cruciatus curses. Other yells. And an Avada Kedavra in the end. And she would have known how to react to that. But this Voldemort would surely be different, and Hermione was haunted by the face the Dark Lord now had.

She was certain that her ritual had somehow failed. That something had not gone as planned. And that they would pay for it. But she could not do anything for the moment. She had not brought her notes about the ritual here, too dangerous, and without them she simply could not guess what had gone awry.

The bracelet on her wrist warmed slightly and Hermione opened her communication notebook.

"_Everything's all right Helen?_"

It was Ginny's handwriting.

"_Everything's fine,_" Hermione wrote back. "_No intrusion for now. Any news on your side?_"

"_Snuffles has received an urgent Floo call this morning, and left in a hurry. We are almost certain that it was on Order business._"

"_That's good._"

"_Yeah. We're at my parents' house now. Ralph will relay you tonight so you can sleep a little. And then at the end of the night Hadrian will take his turn while we will go set alarms around Azkaban."_

_"Fine. How's Crookshanks?_"

"_Delighted to be able to wander in the garden. I'm taking care of Crookshanks Helen, don't worry._"

Ginny and Hermione exchanged a few more sentences, before the redhead had to leave Hermione to help prepare the dinner. Hermione closed the notebook and stretched her legs on the couch she was currently occupying. She had the feeling that the wait would be quite long.

oOoOoOo

It was not until ten days later that the alarms were triggered in the morning, and Hermione immediately jumped out of the armchair she was lounging in, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. Refusing to be dominated by anguish, she immediately put the tip of her wand on her bracelet, alerting Harry, Ron and Ginny. She really hoped that they would be able to join her, that they would not be directly under the watchful eyes of Sirius, Remus, or a Weasley.

For her part Hermione cast several detection spells around her, which came back blank. She was about to start more complex enchantments when her friends emerged from the fireplace, wands pointed straight in front of them. Or more accurately, the three wizards she was pretty sure were her friends, since they had taken a different appearance from the day of the resurrection. Immediately, the hand of one of them went to his forehead and he rubbed it lightly. Obviously, even if Voldemort had not lowered his Occlumency wards in the last 10 days, Harry was still able to feel his presence when he was close.

Ginny – the only girl – looked at her questioningly and Hermione shook her head.

"He immediately neutralised the alarms and I have not been able to locate him yet," she murmured. "You managed to get here fast."

Hermione was deeply relieved to have her friends with her. If she was not sure she could defeat Voldemort alone, the four of them should be able to handle the Dark Lord without many issues, now that he no longer had the element of surprise.

"I stunned Snuffles to go faster," Harry answered just as quietly.

"Let's try to find him," Ron interjected. "And we _all_ stay together, no matter what."

They nodded in silence. They moved slowly from room to room, Hermione and Ginny repeatedly casting all detection spells they knew, and Harry and Ron watching for the slightest suspicious movement around them.

To Hermione's utmost frustration, not only did they not succeed to locate Voldemort long enough to outmanoeuvre him, but it quickly became evident that both sides were circling around each other without any of them being able nor to surprise, nor to escape its opponent.

"There's some signal coming from our right," Ginny whispered.

The signal was barely less scrambled than the previous ones, but it was clear that it was voluntary stronger. It was an evolution in what they were tracing. Previously Voldemort had sought to completely conceal his trace, certainly to find them without them knowing it. But he had obviously not been able to locate them, and was now trying to drag them to a specific place.

"That would bring us to the main hall," Hermione answered. "It's not a coincidence, he wants to attract us there."

"Let's meet him there then, but we'll make a detour through the apartments not to be too obvious," Ron suggested.

All four of them changed the direction they were walking towards, taking the time to try to dissimulate their movements, hoping to at least blur Voldemort's perception of their arrival.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort was far from happy. The past days had been quite successful. He had recovered his yew wand, and he had spent some time to catch-up on everything that had happened since he had last been in the United Kingdom two years ago.

His magic had been slightly unstable the first days, but he had quickly regained a complete mastery over it, savouring his newfound power. As he had once predicted to his Death Eaters, he was not only truly immortal but he was also more powerful now than he had ever been before. His body was not sporting any of the side effects of the dark magic he had long practiced, only his red eyes still revealing who he was, and that was a proof among others of his superiority.

Truth be told, he was absolutely furious for having lost thirteen years of his life because of a child. But another part of him was kind of grateful for the interruption. The end of his first rise to power was a perpetual succession of massacres that had not allowed him to take the place that was his, and all this rise to power by force plan had been taking far longer than what he had initially thought. But today he had the opportunity to start all over again and take revenge. The ministry was still as corrupt as before, and wizards were still idiots ready to believe anything. It would be easy.

Lord Voldemort already had dozens of plans to overthrow the government in place, and to make everyone who opposed him pay. Hence he had been in a pretty good mood this morning when he had decided it was time for him to go back to Slytherin Castle to establish his new base there. Until he triggered some alarms when arriving in what was undoubtedly _his_ home.

And if he had been able to know that he was not alone, he could not get his hands on the culprits, which was particularly irritating. He had finally decided not to waste more time with this masquerade than it deserved, and he was now waiting in the main hall of the castle. Whoever had dared to enter here would promptly regret it.

oOoOoOo

As Hermione had predicted, Voldemort was waiting for them when they entered the main hall. But contrary to what she had hoped for, he did not seem to have believed their false signals and was staring exactly at the corridor from which they emerged. They looked at each other for a moment in silence, from each side of the main hall. The tension was extreme, and all had their wands ready.

Lord Voldemort looked calm. Too calm. He had not cast any spell yet. A restraint that the Voldemort they had known would not have had. And Hermione felt a cold shiver run down her spine. The few times she had gone to the Burrow to sleep the past days she had spent part of her time trying to read her notes on the ritual, but she had every time been too tired, and she had found nothing conclusive. And yet there was undoubtedly something that had not gone as planned.

"How have you managed to enter this castle?" Voldemort asked coldly.

But there was no trace of mad fury in his voice. Cold anger, yes. But not that insane furiousness that had characterized all his actions when they had fought him for the first time, many years ago. Hermione felt her anguish increase. It was worse if he managed to think calmly. Much worse.

Hermione had discovered long after the Battle of Hogwarts that Voldemort's Horcruxes had made him psychologically unstable, thus explaining the thoughtless actions that this man had sometimes made, while all had always described the young Tom Marvolo Riddle as a cold and calculating genius, that could even be perfectly charming if he needed to. Explaining also how the four friends had managed to beat him the first time around.

But the ritual Hermione had used should not have corrected this instability. It should have drawn the energy of the Horcruxes, destroying them in the process. However it was now becoming more and more obvious to Hermione that the Horcruxes had been re-absorbed. If that was the case, they would find themselves facing an enemy far more powerful than they had imagined. She was really going to have to review her ritual in details to confirm her suspicions, and she was not looking forward to find out that she had botched it so badly.

"The wards were good, but not unbreakable for determined wizards," Ginny replied with false nonchalance.

Voldemort stayed silent for a moment and Hermione wondered what he was thinking. The truth was that without Harry and his ability to speak Parseltongue, they would never have been able to enter the castle. Moreover, they had managed it quickly this time around only thanks to their memory of the many months they had spent in their first lives to find the correct charms to open the way.

However, the fact that there was another Parselmouth was sufficiently improbable for Voldemort not to consider it immediately.

"Do you have the slightest idea who this castle belongs to?" Voldemort asked, and the tone was clearly threatening.

Hermione tensed. She did not want the situation to degenerate into a duel. They would probably win. They were four against Voldemort after all. But no fight was ever won in advance. Especially since Voldemort was on his own playground.

"To the Dark Lord," Harry answered.

The diplomatic effort was to be highlighted, and Hermione began to hope that this meeting may perhaps go well, even if the chances of it going well were quite slim.

"Why are you here then? Are you trying to provoke Lord Voldemort's ire?"

If the situation was not so dire, Hermione would have rolled her eyes in the face of the third-person pronoun usage.

"We would like to talk," Hermione said.

"Talk?" Voldemort repeated coldly.

There was a hint of incredulity in his voice, as if he could not imagine that someone could be stupid enough to wish to have a chat with him.

"We would have liked to access the books in your library," Hermione continued.

"Access the books in my library, no less," Voldemort replied with contempt.

His wand moved very slightly and Hermione tightened her grip on hers.

"We want to negotiate this access," Harry added bluntly.

It was going to end badly, it seemed inevitable now. The calculating gleam in Voldemort's eyes was a bad omen. He was currently deciding what to do with them, and Hermione was pretty sure that negotiating was not one of his options.

"Negotiate? So you believe you can offer me something equivalent in exchange?" Voldemort asked with evident scepticism.

"The contents of the prophecy that binds you to Harry Potter," Harry said.

They had discussed several times these past ten days what they could or could not offer to Voldemort. What should be enough value for him to let them access his library, a library he had certainly never granted access to anyone before.

And the prophecy was one of the things that was the easiest to offer for them. After all, revealing it to Voldemort would not change anything in the end. The prophecy gave absolutely no reliable indication about what to do to defeat Harry, no indication of Harry's supposed power, nothing that could give Voldemort any advantage over them. And it was not like Voldemort was not after Harry even without knowing the end...

They could have simply defeated him in a duel, of course. But Hermione had no idea how to access his library without his cooperation.

"Really?" Voldemort said, his tone even more sceptical than previously. "And how do you know the contents of this prophecy?"

"That's our own business," Harry answered. "But we are ready to swear an unbreakable vow that what we will tell you is indeed the actual prophecy."

The calculating gleam in Voldemort's eyes intensified and Hermione felt more and more uncomfortable.

"It is an interesting proposition, but I can easily recover this prophecy myself, and find out what it contains."

"Unless Dumbledore stops you," Ginny pointed out with a hint of sourness.

Hermione had known for a long time that Ginny was the most vindictive one against Voldemort. She resented him too much. Not really because of what the diary had done to her a long time ago, but rather because of what Voldemort had done to Harry. Ginny could not help but think of Harry's miserable childhood, the many face-to-face, the day Voldemort had asked her husband to sacrifice himself, and then killed him with an Avada Kedavra.

Voldemort's expression got darker at the mention of his enemy, and Hermione realized that Ginny had played well.

"After all, we could very well tell him about your return," Hermione added with a smile. "And the existence of this castle."

"Except if you let us access your library," Harry concluded.

It was not even a big concession from their side not to warn Dumbledore. The Headmaster was already aware of Voldemort's return thanks to Severus Snape. And none of them wanted to reveal much more than that to Hogwarts' Headmaster, hoping they could quickly fix the Voldemort problem.

The Dark Lord did not answer for a moment, and his gaze focused more intensely on Harry, Ginny, and Ron.

"You are the ones who performed the resurrection ritual," he said slowly. "Why make me come back if it is to reveal my return to Dumbledore afterwards?"

The tension in the room rose significantly. Hermione wondered for a moment how Voldemort had been able to make the connection, the appearances of her friends having very few in common with those they had used when they had performed the ritual.

By intercepting one of Voldemort's glances Hermione realized that it was not them that he had recognized, but their wands. Which would be a quite problematic issue if he ever met Ron, Ginny, and Hermione as themselves. Harry, luckily, currently had his second wand in hand, not wanting to risk triggering the Priori Incantatem if the situation degenerated into a battle.

"We had no wish to see you return, we merely wanted to access your books," Ginny answered.

"You took my blood," Voldemort immediately understood.

Damn. It was a very bad idea to bring the subject on it. Voldemort was obviously not happy to learn that. And it was quite justified. Possessing someone's blood could allow to do very powerful rituals with it.

"You dared to take my blood," he repeated.

"Great Virginia," Ron muttered.

Voldemort's white wand moved at the same moment, faster than Hermione would have thought possible, sending a spell towards each one of them. Hermione identified the one coming towards her as an expulsion spell and deflected it slightly with a disarming spell. The explosion behind her did not make her turn back to look at it, even though she threw a shield charm behind her just in case.

From the corner of her eye she noticed that Harry, Ron and Ginny were staying close to each other, and she quickly joined them in a fluid movement. But Voldemort immediately sent an explosive spell that forced them to part, followed by a Fiendfyre that almost took them by surprise. Luckily Harry and Ginny conjured an ice ward just in time, and Hermione took advantage of it to materialize enough sand to stifle the fire. She then flew the sand towards Voldemort, transforming it at the last moment into sharp glass shards.

Her attack crashed on the Dark Lord's shields without causing them any apparent damage, and the same happened just a second later to Ron's Diffindo. An unknown spell then flew towards Harry, but it exploded right in front of them, violently blowing the four friends back, separating them from each other even more.

The battle had only started for a few seconds, but one thing was already absolutely clear to Hermione. Voldemort's duelling skills were far above what she had thought. There were four of them. They were each about the same age as him. But it was Voldemort who indisputably led the dance. And Hermione was not at all certain anymore that they could actually best him.

It seemed that they had been a bit too arrogant, a bit too sure of their own superiority, first by assuming that Voldemort would not be able to escape their wards at Riddle Manor, and secondly by underestimating his exceptional duelling skills.

The few following minutes were more than chaotic. Voldemort was using the castle magic to help him, moving the ground under them unexpectedly. And if Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione did not have the same magical ease as their opponent, they were used to fight together and each one of them knew how to compensate the flaws of the others.

A Cruciatus suddenly brushed past Hermione, and she almost lost her balance. Then a cutting spell sliced her left arm slightly. She did not take the time to heal it and sent her own Fiendfyre towards Voldemort, hoping to distract him somehow. She then managed to stop just in time a rather dark laceration curse that was aimed at Harry, before quietly nullifying Voldemort's spell aimed at bringing down their glamour charms.

Ron then sent a blinding curse that Ginny completed with an explosive charm. Their two hexes were triggered at the same time as an earthquake caused by Voldemort, and the ensuing din forced Hermione to cover her ears. Then she dissipated the smoke, the debris, the noise, and the bright light just in time to see that Voldemort was casting a curse to create poisonous vines all over the place, and Harry a spell that should make the ceiling collapse on top of the Dark Lord.

"Stop!" Hermione shouted, amplifying her voice." Stop! Time out!"

Sparks of magics sprang from her hair and everyone froze. Voldemort himself looked at her incredulously while watching from the corner of his eye Harry.

"We need him," Hermione said to Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

"But I do not need you," Voldemort pointed out dangerously.

It was absolutely true. And Voldemort had just proven that he was quite capable of reducing them to dust. But he still had no idea how much they could destroy all his plans with their knowledge.

"Need, maybe not. But it would be a big mistake to kill us now. Our wills are programmed to send your blood to Dumbledore. And how to access this castle," Hermione said.

And also the name of all his Death Eaters. The location of all his safe houses. All the necessary information about the fact that he had one day created Horcruxes. But Voldemort did not need to know that.

"You are threatening me now," Voldemort wondered as if he could not believe they were so unconscious.

Hermione caught him again quickly glancing at Harry and she frowned.

"All we want is an access to the books in your library," Ron said in his calmest tone.

"That will be the case if you bring me both Dumbledore's and Harry Potter's heads. In addition to the prophecy contents of course."

"We'll hand over the prophecy contents, yes. But you won't have the heads of Dumbledore and Harry Potter from us," Harry answered.

"Then you are wasting my time," Voldemort replied.

He raised his wand again.

"Twenty grams of the Philosopher's Stone's Elixir of Life," Ron said.

Voldemort's gaze was immediately on him.

"How did you get the elixir?" he asked.

"We are not willing to share this information," Ron answered, though not too dryly.

It was obvious that the Elixir of Life interested Voldemort. They had bet on it, knowing that the elixir would not prevent them from killing him, as it merely extended the natural life span. Twenty grams could prevent Voldemort from aging for almost ten years. An offer he could not easily refuse, even though he thought he had multiple Horcruxes.

"I want the stone, not the elixir," Voldemort demanded.

"We don't have the stone," Ron answered. "We only have these twenty grams of elixir."

They had indeed left the stone at Grimmauld Place, to be able to lie by omission without being detected by the Dark Lord.

"Twenty grams , twenty books," Voldemort curtly proposed. "And for today only."

It was already a progress. Harry, Ron, and Ginny glanced at her uncertainly, and Hermione rolled her eyes. As if they did not know what she was looking for as well as she did.

"We want an access to all the books written by Salazar Slytherin that are in the library," Hermione countered. "And for the whole month of July."

Voldemort stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Then I will only grant access to one of you, and for a single week," Voldemort said.

This time her friends clearly turned to her, a worried expression on their face. Hermione shrugged. In any case, she was the one who would be the fastest to understand and read these books. But there was one slight issue…

"Two weeks," she said. "And you'll cast Herpo the Foul's translation spell on Slytherin's books."

Because of course Slytherin books' were written in Parseltongue, and of course the only known spell allowing to translate Parseltongue would work only if it was cast by a Parselmouth. If Voldemort was surprised that they knew this spell he did not show it, however, preferring to glance at Harry once more.

"If you tell me the contents of the prophecy, give me these twenty grams of elixir and everything you have taken from me after the resurrection ritual, and swore an unbreakable vow that you will not tell anyone about my return and what you know about me without my consent, two weeks could be managed."

Hermione grimaced slightly, as his wording would force her to not only give back his blood, but also the hair she had stolen from him just in case.

"We also want the commitment from your side that you will not talk to anyone about us without our consent," Ron added.

"And that no harm will come to Helen while she stays here," Harry completed.

Of course Voldemort then demanded just by principle that she swore not to attack him either during the two weeks she would spend at Slytherin Castle. Then there was a moment of hesitation, and Hermione knew that like them, Voldemort was wondering if it was worth extending this non-aggression clause beyond the two weeks. But like them he quickly abandoned the idea knowing that the reciprocal would necessarily be required, and of course he cannot afford to promise the other party that he would not try anything against them ad vitam aeternam. Or at least until the unbreakable vow would be broken.

It took them slightly more than an hour to agree on the exact wording of the vow. There were tricky details on which they had to agree, especially on the limits of what they could or could not reveal on each other. Three times the situation nearly degenerated. But somehow they finally manged to have a satisfactory vow.

Once they had all swore the unbreakable vow, Voldemort immediately demanded his due. Ron pulled out a small vial of elixir and levitated it towards him, and Hermione handed over what was left of his blood and hair.

"And the prophecy?"

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches coming," Harry recounted. "Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

A deadly silence settled in the room, Voldemort visibly reflecting on what he had just heard. He was twirling his white yew wand in his hands almost distractedly and Hermione had an involuntary shudder at the displayed nonchalance of this man who was probably currently planning her best friend's death.

"All right," Voldemort finally said evenly. "Now get out of this castle. Except one of you of course, I would not want to disrespect my vow…"

Harry, Ron, and Ginny glanced worriedly at Hermione, who tried to smile reassuringly.

"Even if it's not in our vow, keep in mind that if you try to kill anyone, we'll not stand idly by," Ginny said.

Voldemort barely looked at Ginny, before dismissing them again with a scornful gesture.

"Keep in touch. Regularly," Ron said to Hermione before they finally left the room.

Then her three friends disappeared and Hermione remained alone with Voldemort.

oOoOoOo

AN: Due to an important workload of work, I'll post the next chapter in two weeks.


	10. Chapter 9

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your reviews!

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 9 - July 1994 **

Hermione carefully assessed the man in front of her, knowing he was doing exactly the same. There was no trace of madness, neither in his distinguished posture, nor in his calculating gaze. Since the ritual he had recovered his wand and had visibly found some luxurious robes somewhere. He appeared as the most perfect gentleman, composed, confident, with his misleadingly beautiful face. The only way to recognize in him the Dark Lord Voldemort was the red eyes, burning like the fires of hell. And perhaps also the terrifying impression of power that seemed to ooze from his whole person.

Hermione knew that he would stab her in her back as soon as he had the slightest chance to. Although he would certainly not lower himself to something so mundanely Muggle. It would probably be an Avada Kedavra. After some Crucio of course. Unless he would feed Nagini on her?

She held his gaze as he observed her. Had he already realized that her appearance was protected by glamour charms? Without a doubt. After all, he had tried to cancel them during their fight. The aging potion, however, he had no way to know about for the moment, which allowed them a slight advantage. And thankfully he was not allowed by their vow to use Legilimency on her.

The silence in the hall was far from relaxed, and Hermione moved slightly towards Voldemort in a tentative to break the tension. She hoped she looked more confident than she really was. Because she knew that if she showed any weaknesses, he would try to use them against her.

"I would like to start now if you don't mind," she said politely.

Hermione had tried to keep her voice firm but she doubted she had managed it. She wanted to strangle Harry for bringing them back to the past, and she wanted to strangle herself even more for following his completely crazy plan.

"A few more seconds will not allow you to better understand Salazar's writings," Voldemort said with obvious contempt.

Ah. So he thought she was not up to Salazar Slytherin's books. It was particularly insulting, but Hermione did not care. As long as she could access the books it would finally be a step forward in their search regarding the magical source, and that was all that currently mattered.

"Perhaps," she replied. "But as I'm imposing myself here, I would still prefer for it not to be in vain."

Voldemort's face showed no reaction for a few seconds, before he spoke again.

"I believe you know where the library is."

Hermione nodded and moved towards the corridor leading to the library, just a few steps from where Voldemort was standing. She kept her eyes on the dark wizard, refusing to turn her back to him, and stopped when the corridor was just between the two of them. He moved deliberately slowly then, stepping closer to her, and Hermione struggle to keep her anxiety hidden. She knew that their vow was supposed to protect her, but there was still a risk that they had forgotten some little detail allowing Voldemort to get rid of her.

But Voldemort simply brushed past her, and Hermione hurried to follow suit, feeling particularly uncomfortable as she walked beside him. The Dark Lord and the Mudblood, a duo that could only end badly, she thought ironically while looking to her left forearm by reflex. Although she no longer had the foul scar that Bellatrix Lestrange had carved in her skin so many years ago, she still felt like she could see the letters on her skin.

The walk, although relatively short, was made completely in silence, and Hermione felt relieved when they arrived in front of the large, open wooden doors of the library. Voldemort stopped and she did the same. He looked thoughtfully at the doors, before casting several spells that, to her utmost frustration, she could not identify. Whatever the results were, Voldemort's expression did not change, but he nevertheless turned slightly towards her.

"Which one of the others is a Parselmouth?" he asked.

Hermione did not know if he had deduced that from the fact that the library doors were already opened, or from the fact that they had been able to enter his castle without his permission. Or perhaps from the fact that they had requested Herpo the Foul's translation spell only after it was confirmed that only Hermione would stay. But it was clear that he was now highly suspicious of them having somehow used Parseltongue.

Mustering up her supposed Gryffindor courage, Hermione did not flinch under his investigative gaze, much more intense now that he was only two steps away from her.

"I have no obligation to tell you how we entered here," she said.

It was better to let Voldemort come to his own conclusions anyway, there was quite low chances that he would guess anything correctly about them.

"I am bound by the vow not to reveal anything about you, you know," Voldemort said.

Hermione snorted disdainfully. Voldemort had said that in an almost charming tone to try to get the information. While he must have only one desire, torture all four of them, and then kill them in a particularly slow and painful way.

"I am not stupid," Hermione said. "I know that you will seek to nullify your part of the vow as quickly as possible. Unless you manage to kill us before that."

They stared at each other for several long seconds, but once again Hermione did not stepped down.

"After you," Voldemort finally said, inviting her to enter the library.

Hermione wanted to protest. She certainly had no wish to turn her back to the Dark Lord. She was obviously not a match for him in a duel, so there was no need to disadvantage her even more. But she knew it was futile. Whether she turned her back to him or not, if he had found a way to double-cross them, she would be in a dire situation.

So she just pretended that it did not affect her and went through the doors, hoping that if he tried anything, the various protective charms wrapped around her would at least give her time to react.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort watched the girl as she carefully pulled Salazar's books out of the shelves. If there was one thing he hated, it was not being in control. And these four people, Hadrian, Ralph, Virginia, and Helen, he had no control over them. Not enough at least. He knew they were using neither their true names nor their true appearances. But their glamour charms were annoyingly strong, and none of the dissipation spells he had discreetly cast during their fight had taken them down.

And their ability to enter his castle, even more than their ability to perform a ritual to give him a body back, was unnerving. Even assuming that one of them was a Parselmouth - which should be impossible as he was himself the last known one - and would thus have been able to easily disable the Parseltongue wards cast all over the place, the other wards were still far too complex. Well beyond what even a relatively talented wizard could undo.

It was simply impossible for them to really be in their twenties, as they seemed to appear. But of course magic was of wonderful help to dissimulate the age and appearance of wizards. Unless they were in fact acting on someone's behalf. Immediately Lord Voldemort thought of Dumbledore. The old coot was the only one today that could perhaps pretend to be able to break his wards… But Dumbledore would not have had anything to do with a ritual allowing to resurrect him. Especially to recover some books, even if he could not have accessed them otherwise. And Lord Voldemort had carefully checked that the ritual had done him no harm.

"Is there any other place where I can find Salazar Slytherin's books?"

The girl had stopped rummaging through the books and was looking at him straight in the eyes. This was a very unusual attitude. She knew who he was, and she was scared, he could tell it, but not scared enough to shrivel under his gaze like anyone else. There was no doubt that these people posed a threat. A threat he had clearly not been aware of even the day before.

"No, only on these shelves" he replied neutrally. "There must be fifty-seven of them."

She counted them with a quick wand motion before nodding with satisfaction.

"May you cast Herpo's spell then please?" she asked.

What were they looking for in Salazar's books? The founder had written on various subjects, all more interesting than the others. Fortunately, Lord Voldemort's ancestor had never been interested in Horcruxes, and had not written anything on those. Otherwise, he would never have allowed anyone to access Salazar's books. And even without any mention of Horcruxes, there was not much except the Elixir of Life that could have convinced him. Gryffindor's sword perhaps…

With a brisk wand movement, Lord Voldemort cast the spell. It violently illuminated the books, making the girl jump back. He had not planned to see the ones who had resurrected him so soon. But now they were undoubtedly on top of his priorities, and he had the perfect opportunity to tear some of their secrets apart. Since his arrival at Slytherin Castle this morning he had already noted several useful things about them.

Firstly, they definitely were not sympathizers of his cause. Not completely opposed to dark magic as they had at least used it to make him come back, but very cautious about it. Maybe even afraid. After all, they had collected only his blood and his hair. And again with a specific purpose in mind. If he had been in their place, he would have also recovered skin samples, some saliva, and probably bone marrow. Just in case, as all those ingredients could be used in various rituals.

Secondly, they were indisputably more competent than they appeared. Lord Voldemort had already been quite angry to see that they had managed to break into his castle, but having them hold their ground in a duel against him, even at four against one, had made Voldemort absolutely furious. He had been determined to refuse to negotiate and kill them once and for all, even if it meant never knowing what their motives were, up until they had mentioned the Elixir of Life. Which led him to the following point.

Thirdly, they were at the same time slightly too knowledgeable and vastly misinformed.

They knew that the Philosopher's Stone was real , and they even managed to get some grams of the elixir, but they knew little about the uses of this elixir. They did not know for example that with twenty grams he had more than enough to put in place a ritual that would allow him in a few months to locate the Philosopher's Stone itself. Or perhaps they had not dared to steal the stone themselves? He had not detected any lies when they had said that they only had the twenty grams of elixir, and he was the best Legilimens alive…

They had fairly well protected their true appearances under glamour charms, but they do not know that by staying here several hours in his presence, he would be able to recover fragments of the magic of this Helen, and then be able to determine all the recent places she had been to.

Lord Voldemort had certainly had to agree to give the girl access to his books for two weeks, but he had obtained much more in exchange. A way to get the Philosopher's Stone. And future answers on who they really were. He was going to discover how they could have entered the castle of his ancestor, and who was aware of the existence of their methods to break here. And then he would kill them for daring to get in his way.

oOoOoOo

Hermione looked at the thick books that were now neatly stacked on the table, whose titles she could finally read, and watched from the corner of her eye Voldemort who had just sat nonchalantly in a large armchair a few steps away.

"You have no need to watch me, you know, my vow keeps me from degrading your books," she said dryly.

She hated having someone watching her work, it always made her nervous. And she had no wish to have the most powerful dark wizards in centuries constantly on her back…

"I will not leave," Voldemort answered simply.

Hermione refrained from replying. It was not necessarily very smart to try to piss off Voldemort. But if she had to pay attention to her surroundings constantly, she would not work very fast. He certainly expected that she would not even be able to learn anything.

It was clear that she was not a threat to him. Not alone in any case. If he had not sworn the unbreakable vow, he would probably be torturing her for information right now. Because, beyond the Elixir of Life which was surely very precious to him, it was obvious that he had also accepted the deal to be able to learn more about them. They had probably become a threat by trespassing on his territory, and he would undoubtedly try to double-cross them one way or another. Hermione just hoped that they would manage to eliminate him sooner than that.

While keeping an eye on Voldemort, Hermione cast a variety of charms to extract the abstracts and tables of contents from the books, as well as several keyword searches. She sighed as a huge pile of scrolls appeared in front of her. It was going to take her hours to even determine where to look at in priority. And since Voldemort would undoubtedly trace everything she would be doing, she was going to have to skim over all the subjects rather than focus on magical sources, not to draw his attention to what they were looking for.

Looking up from the scrolls, Hermione glanced at Voldemort. He was supposedly absorbed in a book she could not see the title of, and, to her greater despair, he seemed perfectly content to stay there. If there was any flaw in their vow, she would probably be dead before even realizing it. And this time there would be no Harry to send her back to the past.

For a few seconds she hesitated to send Salazar Slytherin's books to hell and leave the castle never to return. But she mustered up her courage, and, deciding to find answers to her questions about magical sources as quickly as possible, she immersed herself in the books.

As Hermione read the summaries, she grew quite frustrated. Slytherin's writings dealt with many different subjects, and the books grouped the writings chronologically and not thematically. It would be a nightmare for her to navigate efficiently among all these widespread themes in two short weeks.

She had to find a solution to automate her research. Without making it suspicious. Maybe set up a kind of augmented index? Or a map of the different topics? Unless she should just browse all the books superficially, planning to recover their contents after eliminating the danger that Voldemort represented? To be honest, she would probably try to salvage all the books of this library if the opportunity arose. They all seemed far too interesting. But she had no idea what he had done to make them accessible…

"What are you looking for?"

Hermione jumped violently, before turning around briskly and sticking her wand in Voldemort's throat. Who just shrugged and walked away. An icy chill ran down Hermione's back. She had absolutely not noticed that he had moved, and that was probably what he had wanted to test. She was unable not to be absorbed by books as interesting as those she had in front of her, even with Voldemort prowling around her it seemed. If she died from Voldemort's hand, she would curse Harry, Ron, and Ginny. And all their descendants.

She glanced at the piles of books in front of her. Nothing at first suggested that she was looking for anything linked to magical sources. Fortunately.

"I do not have to answer you," she said in a tone she hoped sounded calm. "But as a courtesy, I will tell you that it is not linked to you in any way."

She sat back in her chair, while continuing to look at Voldemort, who finally also sat back without adding anything else. He had managed to make Hermione even more uncomfortable than before, something that should not have been possible to begin with. Hermione forced herself to breathe calmly. If he felt the need to scare her that way that meant that he could not do anything more for the moment. But instead of reassuring her this thought only increased her unease.

oOoOoOo

In the early evening Lord Voldemort slightly raised his head from the runic treaty he was reading to observe the girl, a smirk on his lips. She was going to live 18 hours so that he could recover her magical signature and trace all the places where she had been, and thus her companions. And then she would very quickly fall in one of his traps and break her vow, depriving her of her magic and rendering her truly defenceless.

"Would you like me to ask the house-elves to prepare you a room?" he asked in a falsely charming tone.

She did not jump this time, just stared at him with a surprised look, which quickly turned into suspicion. Clever girl.

"No thanks, I won't stay here for the night", she replied tersely.

They had wanted to measure themselves against him, but they were indisputably too novice for that.

"Have you already found what you were looking for then?"

"Pardon?"

"I have altered this afternoon the wards around the castle. If you leave, you won't be able to come back," Lord Voldemort said.

"If I cannot come back, you'll break your side of the vow," the girl stated far too confidently.

"No, I won't," Voldemort answered with a satisfied smirk. "Not after having warned you."

He saw her frown as she probably went through the words of the vow, and a few seconds later she visibly pinched her lips out of spite. But to Lord Voldemort's annoyance she did not react more than that. He wondered for a moment if the witch was not simply too unconscious not to be terrorized at the simple thought of spending the night in Lord Voldemort's castle.

"But do not worry, my vow will not allow me to let you die of hunger while you are here," Lord Voldemort said with a touch of irony.

The girl's displeasure intensified, before she stopped looking at him to bury her nose in the books, to Lord Voldemort's outrage. She dared to ignore him. She dare to ignore Lord Voldemort. She was going to suffer for a long time when she was no longer protected by the vow. A very long time.

"Do not worry, I have planned far more food than needed," she finally answered neutrally.

And she recover from her bag the same hideous sandwich she had nibbled on for lunch, and Lord Voldemort had to suppress a disgusted snort. Her tastes were so plebeian…

oOoOoOo

The sun was just setting down when Hermione's bracelet warmed. She slowly got up and steadily headed to the nearest toilets, the only way she had found so far to escape Voldemort's constant attention, who seemed to have nothing better to do than to watch her. That being said, if her presence here prevented him from doing anything else he could have done during this time, it could only be beneficial.

Once in the bathroom , Hermione cast several secrecy spells before opening her notebook.

"_Helen? Is everything ok? When are you coming back?_" Ginny was asking.

"_Good evening Virginia,_" Hermione replied.

"_Oh thank you!_" Ginny wrote before Hermione could add anything else. "_We were really starting to get worried. Are you coming back soon?_"

"_I won't come back before the end of the two weeks, he's refusing to let me leave the castle,_" Hermione answered.

"_What?_" Harry exclaimed.

"_Excuse me?_" Ron added.

They were probably all three standing near Ginny's notebook.

"_We'll come pick you up right now_," Harry said.

Hermione almost rolled her eyes. Her friends were so predicable…

"_No, you won't,_" she wrote back. "_There is a slight issue with the vow, that's why I am staying. If I leave now, I will not be able to return later._"

"_Who cares! It's too dangerous for you to stay there if he's already starting to find loopholes in the vow,_" Ron said.

Hermione could not deny that it was comforting to know that they were putting her security above everything else, but from her point of view it was not the moment to back down. Even though she did not want to stay all the time with Voldemort, she could not let this opportunity pass. He would never let her access his books again.

"_I'm fine for now, I can handle him,_" Hermione replied. "_And it's our best chance to find something. Perhaps our only chance._"

"_You can handle him?_"

She was almost able to see Harry's disbelief in the words written in the notebook.

"_Voldemort can't do anything to me as long as the vow holds, and with Oxomoco's spell I'll be fine with only two hours of sleep a night._"

"_You won't be able to last two weeks with it,_" Ginny said matter-of-factly. "_Your body will overdose before the end of the two weeks, and you'll fall into a coma in the middle of Slytherin Castle._"

"_I doubt he'll stay here more than a few days,_" Hermione retorted. "_Surely he has something else to do than spend his days watching me._"

She had felt angry when Voldemort had told her that he would not let her leave the castle until the end of the two weeks, but now she was starting to look on the bright side. It would give her more time to study the different books.

"_I'll keep you up to date every evening via the notebook,_" she added.

"_Do you really think you can find something interesting in the books?_" Harry asked.

"_It's too early to tell,_" Hermione answered. "_But it looks promising. I'll need to leave you now, or my long disappearance will start to look suspicious._"

"_Are you sure you want to stay there?_" Ginny asked.

"_I am._"

"_All right, from our side we're going to work on our duelling skills,_" Ron announced. "_We were catastrophic this morning, and we cannot allow that._"

"_It's a good idea,_" Hermione commented. "_Have a nice evening._"

"_Thanks. And you can perhaps use the Warn-Me charm tonight,_" Ginny advised.

"_Ah, so you cannot say anymore that this charm is not useful!_" Ron commented.

Hermione thoughtfully closed the notebook. It was a good suggestion. The Warn-Me charm had been invented by Ron and George when they were in their thirties, at a time when almost all members of the Weasley and the Potter families had conducted a vendetta against them. Because those two idiots had blown up half of the Burrow on Christmas Eve, including all the gifts, with one of their latest untested version of Wildfire Whiz-bangs.

The Warn-Me spell allowed one to wake up immediately if someone unauthorized was within a five meters range. And if it was not as powerful as other detection spells, it was at least particularly discreet. And it was even not yet officially invented, increasing the chances that Voldemort would not notice the charm if he tried anything while she slept.

When Hermione came back in the library, Voldemort was still there, sitting regally in the same armchair as before, and he gave her a piercing look, as if he knew exactly what she had done during the time she was absent. Was he really not planning to sleep tonight, she thought exasperatedly? But if she knew Oxomoco's spell, he probably knew it too. Perhaps he even knew how to counteract the adverse effects. And he was free to use energizing potions also, unlike her who could not drink any potion due to the aging draught in her veins.

Her discontent must have been written all over her face, as Voldemort mockingly raised an eyebrow in her direction. How such a basic gesture could express such contempt was astonishing. Hermione ignored him and sat down at her table, keeping her wand close. She knew it would be a very long evening.

"Would you like me to ask the house-elves to prepare you a room?" Voldemort asked at the exact time she had been anew fully immersed in the books.

She narrowed her eyes in annoyance at his interruption. He had done it on purpose, that was quite clear. And if their vow stipulated that he should not disturb her while she worked, the interpretation of this condition was the one that was the most vague, giving him the possibility to annoy her quite frequently. And how did he managed to get some house-elves in the castle when he had spent all the afternoon here with her?

"That would be highly appreciated, thank you," she however replied, making her most beautiful smile.

She would not let him intimidate her.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	11. Chapter 10

Hi everyone!

Thanks for your reviews :)

Here's the 10th chapter.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 10 - July 1994 **

Hermione was suddenly awakened by the Warn-Me charm she had cast around her. She moved immediately, straightening herself and taking out her wand in a defensive posture at the same time, a spell already on the tip of her tongue. However, she stopped herself when she identified the intruder, a small house-elf shaking with fear.

"Missy's sorry, Missy didn't want to scare Miss Helen."

Hermione sighed as the elf fidgeted. In the future, or rather in the past for her, she had managed to make the lives of these creatures better, and, bit by bit, to infuse the house-elves with more and more self-esteem. But here she would need to redo everything, and even if she knew she would do it again without any hesitation, it was still quite discouraging to know how much effort it would take.

"You didn't scare me Missy, so please don't blame yourself," Hermione said.

"Miss Helen's too nice with Missy. Missy..."

"Why have you come here Missy?" Hermione asked.

She had not wish to listen to the house-elf's ramblings in the middle of the night.

"Missy was sent to inform Miss Helen that Miss Helen could call Missy if Miss Helen needs anything."

A quick Tempus charm told Hermione that she had been sleeping for only an hour, and she strongly suspected that Voldemort had sent Missy only to find out if she would detect the house-elf's presence. Her fatigue increasing her exasperation, Hermione hesitated for a moment to go find where Voldemort himself was to have an heated discussion about his manners, or lack of. But she knew it was a particularly bad idea, especially as her vow was preventing her from exploring the castle more than necessary, and she settled on a less satisfactory reaction.

"Thank you Missy," she said politely. "May I ask you to thank Voldemort for me, please?"

The house-elf bowed and disappeared promptly. There was a slight chance that the house-elf would wake up Voldemort to transmit her answer. Unfortunately, it was quite improbable, as Voldemort had probably asked not to be disturbed if he was indeed sleeping. Hermione tried for a moment to imagine Voldemort sleeping, but it seemed such a strange thing to do for him. Far too plebeian for a Dark Lord. The incongruous image of Lord Voldemort sleeping serenely with a snake-shaped stuffed animal occupied her thoughts for a moment and Hermione giggled nervously. She really needed to sleep at least one more hour.

oOoOoOo

The library was empty when Hermione entered it two hours later. She cast several revealing spells as a precaution, but Voldemort's armchair seemed to be as empty as it appeared at first sight. It did nothing to reassure Hermione.

"What could he be planning?" she muttered.

Either he was out of Slytherin Castle – now that he had claimed back his ownership of it, Hermione had no control anymore over the entrances and exits –, or he was still there, waiting for the right moment to try to intimidate her. Or to kill her if he had already managed to get around the vow.

But no, it was plainly impossible for him to have succeeded to get around the vow so fast. No one could get around an unbreakable vow in just one day. Merlin was the only known wizard to have succeeded in nullifying an unbreakable vow, and it had taken him slightly more than two years. If Voldemort was undeniably a very powerful wizard, there was no way he could have managed to do in one day a task that had taken Merlin two years.

And even if he had already manged to bypass an unbreakable vow earlier in his life, it would not help him. Each vow was unique, as it was based on the magical signatures of the performers. And Hermione was perfectly certain that they had previously never swore an unbreakable vow with Voldemort. So there was no way he could have managed it, fortunately.

After moving her chair slightly to be able to keep an eye on both the library entrance and the armchair Voldemort had used the previous day, Hermione finally sat down and pulled her notes out of her bag. She cast a glance at the shelves all around her and restrained her urge to have a look at the books on them. She had dreamed of this library for years after all… But she was not stupid enough to believe that Voldemort had not encompassed his books with strong protection after letting her here.

With a swift wand motion, Hermione cast several detection spells all around her, including Ron and George's Warn-Me charm. They might not be enough to stop Voldemort if he really wanted to be discreet, but they should warn her of any other opponent's presence.

Then, focussing again on Slytherin's books, Hermione grabbed one of the books in the pile on her left. Her time was limited, and she had to find answers as soon as possible, or, at least, new tracks.

oOoOoOo

Voldemort looked thoughtfully at the small bottle of the Philosopher's Stone's Elixir of Life he was holding in his hand. He wanted to start its distillation right now, the first step towards the long ritual that would allow him to locate the stone itself. But he could not for the moment devote all his time to the elixir. And he did not want to start such a critical process while he was not alone at Slytherin Castle.

Even if it annoyed him to no end, he had to admit that the girl was not to be taken lightly. If he had managed to track down her movements without her noticing - on his second attempt, however - he had not managed to obtain a copy of everything she wrote or said.

It was annoying, but he could be patient. He was in no hurry. Even removing enough of the Elixir of Life for the ritual to locate the stone, Voldemort still had enough elixir to stay healthy for several years.

And the eighteen hours needed for him to collect enough of Helen's magical signature had now passed. He was going to make sure very quickly that she would not be able respect her part of the vow. And when she would have lost her magic he would make her talk. The ritual to trace her magic was only a precaution to find the others after all.

oOoOoOo

"_Have you found anything interesting?_" Harry asked.

Hermione had once again taken refuge in the lavish bathroom next to the library so she could exchange a few words with her friends. This reminded her strangely of the time when they had prepared Polyjuice during their first second year in Hogwarts. It had taken her a long time to be able to laugh at her catastrophic metamorphosis into a cat, but now she always thought about it with a smile on her face. And to believe that Draco Malfoy could be Slytherin's heir, they had been so naive...

"_Nothing conclusive at the moment,_" Hermione wrote back. "_I haven't finished to skim all the books, but it seems to be only a small topic among hundreds of others._"

They were not directly writing the topic Hermione was looking at, aware that there was a possibility that despite all her enchantments, Voldemort had managed to put some spying charm on Hermione's notebook.

"_A _small _topic?_" Ron noticed.

"_Slytherin's writings suggest that he had experimented on it, but I have found no specific details for the moment._"

"_Sneaky Slytherin,_" Ron grumbled.

Even if their hatred for Slytherin was since long a thing of the past, Ron still never lost an opportunity to blame them for everything that went awry.

"_Since we're talking about the original Slytherin, that sounds relevant,_" Ginny said. "_You think you will find something Helen?_"

"_In these books? I'm not sure. But I think I will find at least some tracks towards something else._"

"_And with Voldemort? Everything's OK?_" Harry asked.

"_I haven't seen him today. Has anything strange happened in England that could indicate what he is doing?_"

"_Nothing we're aware of, but we'll remain vigilant._"

When Hermione returned to the library she almost hit Voldemort as he was exiting it, and she moved aside clumsily. Crashing into Voldemort was the last thing anyone sane wanted to do, and Hermione was pretty sure she had not yet lost it, despite all Harry's far-fetched plans she had been forced to follow in her life.

"Ah, it seems I have finally found you," Voldemort said evenly.

As if he did not know exactly where she was at any time of the day. He had placed a particularly advanced tracking charm on her the first day, and if Hermione had managed to discreetly render it ineffective, she was pretty sure he had realized the deception. And she could not exclude the hypothesis that he had placed others without her being able to detect them.

Hermione had not dared to try to do the same thing on her side. Voldemort had the advantage of having the whole castle on his side, and the chances Hermione could cast a tracking spell on him without being detected were pretty slim. And on top of that, she was pretty sure that Voldemort was constantly surrounded by various spells protecting him against unwanted charms. Even Hermione always had two or three protective charms around her, and she was far less paranoid than him.

It was absolutely frustrating to see that he had such a mastery of spells. As if they came naturally to him. As if he had never needed to learn them or practice them in the least. As if he could just bend magic to his will. It was just as unfair as the perfectly aristocratic face that her ritual had given back to him.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked in a tone she tried – and failed – to make as polite as possible.

She had the unnerving feeling she was facing a predator. Yesterday he had been in an observation phase. Detailing what she was doing, judging her actions and reactions. But at some point he would attack, and it was harrowing not to know when.

"I just wished to warn you that I will be out of the castle the next hours. I would not advise to go anywhere outside of the library in the meantime."

Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Was he trying to have her believe that he would warn her every time he left the castle? Or had he some other motives she did not know? Was there a trap behind these words?

"All right, thanks," she finally said in a firm voice.

After all it was well known that one should never show fear to predators.

Voldemort disappeared with a few strides, leaving a pensive Hermione still at the doors of the library, not knowing whether he had really left or not. Shaking herself up, she reviewed her options.

She could continue reading Slytherin's books of course. But if Voldemort was really gone, she could also take the opportunity to draw some runes in the library to ensure her own survival. She was not as good in runes as in charms and arithmancy, her expertise for many years, but she was still good enough at them, and runes were far harder to detect.

Hermione approached the table she had been using with precaution. None of the books seemed to have been moved. Everything seemed to be exactly as she had left it twenty minutes earlier. Carefully she went around the table. Before casting any runes she had to know first if he had any way to trace what she was planning to do. Absent-mindedly she tapped the end of her wand against her thigh, before taking a decision.

"Aperio Vestigium," Hermione whispered.

An eerie dust appeared all around her. It stayed dull for a few seconds, before starting to flicker around the books. The spell itself was invented in her previous life in the 2020s, and it allowed to trace recent emanations of magic. It had the advantage of being particularly complex, in addition to not being invented yet, and Hermione was almost certain that even Voldemort would not be able to understand exactly what she had used.

"Hum, the books then," she mused.

The spell on them was a pretty obvious one, and Hermione got rid of it with a quick wand movement. Then with another movement she made the dust around the books dull again, before lowering the brightness of the room. She then spotted another flicker, much weaker, but still detectable all around her. The spell it detected was undoubtedly recording the magic she was producing, including the darkening spell that would surely surprise Voldemort.

She would need to deceive this spell when she would draw her runes. Fortunately, it should not be an issue for her. Hermione raised her wand, but finally decided to do another verification. She made the dust dull again, and continued to lower the brightness of the room. It was totally dark when she noticed a very low flicker near the ground.

Hermione swore and cast a Tempus on the flickering dust. The magic was recent. She widened her eyes slightly in admiration. To cast a spell, and leave so few magical remnants just a few minutes afterwards... it was almost impossible. And the spell Voldemort had cast here would be undoubtedly triggered if Hermione drew any runes on the floor. Damn, that was bad. The remnants were too weak to allow her to identify which spell Voldemort had used and deceive it somehow.

Hermione hesitated. Would it better to put runes on the ground anyway, in addition to the runes she was going to hide on the walls, as if she had not seen the spell? It would still reveal that she had thought of drawing runes in the library. But at the same time, who would not think about it? It would be even more suspicious to pretend that she had not drawn any...

Making a quick decision, Hermione drew a set of runes on the floor, and another on the walls, taking care not to trigger the more general detection spell all around the room.

"That's one thing off my list," she murmured once it was over.

Then she sat back in her chair, renewed her usual protective spells and plunged back into the writings of Salazar Slytherin.

oOoOoOo

Footsteps could be heard down the hall and Bellatrix let out a small laugh. It was the time of the guards patrol and these poor little wizards were doing it the same way as usual. As if everything was normal. As if nothing had changed. Poor idiots. Unworthy to be wizards. Unworthy to exist.

They passed her cell and she chuckled at their stupidity.

"Silence Bellatrix," one of them said.

It made her burst into a mad laugh. Bellatrix. How dare they. She was Madame Lestrange, formerly Black. From The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

"You're going to die," she said as she continued to laugh. "He will come, and you. Will. Die."

Her voice had been menacing in the end and one of them took a step back. Yes, yes, they had to back down in front of her. She was the most loyal follower of the Dark Lord. His favourite. And she would take revenge.

"Don't pay her any attention Jake, she's crazy," the one that had not moved back said to his seemingly younger colleague.

And Bellatrix laughed again. Because they did not know. They did not know that her master had returned. She had felt the Dark Mark come back to life on her skin and she had known immediately. The Dark Lord had come back. And he would come for her. In a few days, in a few months, or in a few years. It was not really important. Because at least now she was sure that her master was alive.

oOoOoOo

One hour must have passed when Hermione's alarms startled her. She looked up at the empty library, all her senses on alert, and her hand on her wand. Everything was silent for a few seconds, before she noticed a soft hissing, very discreet, but still distinguishable in the current silence.

She realized what it meant just a moment before Nagini slipped into the room, immediately darting her head towards her. Hermione stood up and took out her wand. What was Nagini doing here? It was certainly not a coincidence...

The snake moved sharply, its posture threatening, and Hermione froze. There was something amiss here, she was sure of it. Why send her Nagini? She would have no trouble to kill the snake if needed… Then she understood. He wanted her to defend herself. He wanted her to hurt Nagini. Because Nagini was probably a Horcrux now, and hurting her would mean hurting Voldemort, and thus breaking her side of the vow. Something Hermione could not afford to.

Nagini suddenly rose in front of her, as if ready to lunge forward at her, and Hermione felt her heart tense painfully in her chest. She had never liked snakes. They were dangerous. And Nagini was not just dangerous, she was just terrifying. Hermione had seen what Nagini's fangs, currently darted towards her, had done to Arthur Weasley. And nobody would be there to transport her to St Mungo's if anything happened to her…

Her anguish stopped short. Nothing would happen to her. If Hermione was hurt while behind under his protection, Voldemort would be the one breaking his vow. She should be safe from Nagini.

Despite all her confidence, she could not help but flinch when the snake pounced on her, venomous fangs forward. At the last moment Nagini avoided her, simply brushing past her without sinking its fangs in her body. The cold, scalish skin was particularly unpleasant and Hermione briskly moved away from the animal.

"Ah, I see you've met my pet, Nagini."

Voldemort was standing nonchalantly in the doorway of the library, showing no sign of disappointment, his red stare pensive.

"I could say that I'm delighted but that would be a lie," Hermione answered, trying to control the tremor in her voice.

She sat back in her chair as if neither Nagini's nor Voldemort's presence affected her. Which was definitely not true. Voldemort had made his first move to try to trap her, and she doubted he was going to stop there.

"You seem not to be afraid of snakes," Voldemort commented with feigned indifference.

He had moved into the room and leaned against the table he had occupied the previous day.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid of many things, including snakes," Hermione replied casually. "But I was pretty sure you wouldn't have been able to get rid of your side of the vow so soon."

Instead of answering her, Voldemort hissed something to Nagini, who snuggled up against him, and he absently stroked her head as if she was a perfectly normal pet, ignoring Hermione altogether.

Hermione was slightly upset against Harry, Ron and Ginny for having spared the snake when they had recovered Voldemort. But she knew that Harry's argument to leave Nagini alive made sense. He had suspected that Voldemort would surely turn her into a Horcrux to finally reach the famous seven number he had set for himself a long time ago, not knowing that he had in fact already reached it thirteen years ago. And in that case it was always better to know what was the last Horcrux.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort was pacing in his room with irritation. It had been a week, a week since he had negotiated with the four wizards, a week that the girl was there, and he still had not managed to make her break her vow. Neither Nagini's attacks, nor his elaborated illusions had surprised her enough to push her to defend herself. She even seemed to have forced herself to always put her wand in a place that was difficult to access. And if this type of behaviour was particularly stupid in general, it had so far prevented her from breaking her vow.

He had to recognize a certain courage there. To make her wand inaccessible while she was in his presence, in his castle. She must have had quite a lot of confidence in the wording of their unbreakable vow. And to his utmost frustration Voldemort must admit that he had not yet found any loophole in the vow that would allow him to really attack her.

And besides, if one of the spells he had cast on the books she was currently studying had worked, he had not been able to understand what she really was looking for. She seemed to read everything, in order, without dwelling on any of the subjects more significantly. As if she just wanted to have an overview of everything. Which did not make sense. Why trade everything they had of the Elixir of Life to simply skim over Salazar's writings? There was something that he was clearly not aware of and he loathed it.

Lord Voldemort always had a backup plan, of course. When the two weeks would be over, there would not be any non-aggression clauses between them anymore. And with the girl's magical signature he had carefully collected and stored, he would be able to locate her easily. And then he would find the four of them one by one and he would made them pay. Very painfully.

oOoOoOo

There was a sudden noise and Hermione's heart immediately started beating wildly. She was half expecting the ceiling to collapse on her. Or Nagini to attack her. But a quick glance told her that this time it was only Voldemort who had closed slightly too harshly one of the books he was reading.

He looked to be in a pretty bad mood, but when he noticed her glance he smirked at her anyway. Hermione pursed her lips in discontent. She had never wanted to kill anyone so much. Except maybe Dolores Umbridge, but Dolores Umbridge was in a whole other category better left untouched, at least for now. Currently, Hermione was really on the brink of snapping and trying to end Voldemort's life as painfully as possible.

Having Nagini attacking her by surprise every two days was already especially annoying. But his illusions... She almost had a heart attack when a Death Eater had entered the library and had attacked her with a Cruciatus on the third day of her presence in Slytherin Castle, when Voldemort was absent. She had narrowly avoided the Cruciatus and had already had a Diffindo on her lips when she had finally decided to cancel her spell at the last moment, opting to instead just protect herself with a powerful shield.

And it had been a close call, because it had not been a Death Eater at all, but Voldemort using some glamour charms. And of course it was not real spells but simple harmless light rays. Voldemort had not stopped there, setting up multiple illusions to try to force her to react too quickly and break her side of the vow. Her runes had more than once prevented her from simply dying of fear from an unexpected attack.

In the end, she was now putting her wand at the bottom of her trusty beaded bag so that she could not cast a spell too quickly even if she wanted too. And she found herself particularly vulnerable, without a wand at hand, in the middle of Slytherin Castle, with Lord Voldemort for only company. And that made her positively furious.

It was impossible to work properly in these conditions. And, moreover, it was certainly harming her mental health. Wait, that was an interesting point. Could she not then force the vow to consider it an injury to her person? Hermione mused over it for a few seconds. That was tempting, but it would probably not work. Because for it to work she would need to really lose her mind, and there was no way she was ready to do that.

"Things are not going as you wished?" Hermione asked with false innocence.

Voldemort's smirk disappeared, and Hermione's mood improved slightly. There was no reason for her to be the only one to be frustrated with their forced cohabitation. Dark Lord or not, she was the brightest witch of her generation, and she would not let him walk all over her.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort got out of his library not to attack Helen. Her presence was wearing on his nerves, so much that he was almost afraid to snap and break his part of the vow. To give in to his impulses and smash her head against one of the shelves. Violently. And to revel in her cries of pain.

It had been years since he had not needed to tolerate anyone. Years that he had had full powers over the people he was with. And now he found himself in this unbelievable situation. But twenty grams of the Elixir of Life... enough to find the Stone... it was not something he could have refused. There were various magical rituals so risky that even he had not dared to try them. Even with the Horcruxes ensuring his immortality, spending years as a spirit was nowhere near a pleasant experience he wanted to renew. But with the stone, he would be even more protected… enough to try a lot of new incredible rituals. Enough to push even further the limits of magic…

Voldemort slowed his furious walk, noticing that he had reached the end of the small part of Slytherin Castle that was currently liveable. Slytherin Castle. His castle. Why had he not rehabilitated it more when he had been at the height of his power? It was a mystery to him. Like most of his actions at that time.

He was perfectly fine with killing, be it Muggles or wizards, to achieve his goals. But why had he spent so much time fighting against the Order of the Phoenix when he could have seized power more easily? Why had he ordered raid after raid when it was always much easier to kill his opponents discreetly?

The anger Lord Voldemort felt turned against himself. He was appalled. Disappointed. Had he been crazy at that time? Had Dumbledore managed to poison him without him noticing? At this thought the windows around him exploded, throwing pieces of glass everywhere. He ignored the mess. He _hated_ mistakes. Lord Voldemort did not make mistakes. But the end of his previous ascension to power...

His wand was now spinning quickly in his hand and he forced himself to calm down. He had a body again, functional, powerful. His wand. His castle. And a huge problem consisting of four people obviously very annoying.

With few quick movements Lord Voldemort cast various advanced glamour charms on himself. It was time for him to study in more detail the state of the wizarding world. To start planning his return.

And he undoubtedly needed to do something else than to watch the girl in the coming days, or he would soon have to evacuate the tension he felt dealing with her, probably on some Muggle villages. Not the best way to keep his return discreet.

oOoOoOo

A few days later Hermione closed the last one of Slytherin's books. She looked at all the books in front of her and her notes. She had needed to speed up the last books, the two weeks being far too short, even to simply skim over them.

She still normally had a few hours left at Slytherin Castle before the end of the agreed period. She could have used them to go deeper into the subject of the sources, or any other subject, but she did not want to give any indication to Voldemort about what might interest her.

And anyway, she preferred not to stay until the last minute. At the exact time the two weeks would be over, Voldemort would try to kill her again. And she would clearly prefer to be far away from the castle at that time.

It was time to leave then. Rummaging through her bag, Hermione took out her notebook and quickly wrote a line to announce her imminent arrival. She also picked up her wand. In an elegant wand gesture, she placed Salazar Slytherin's books back on the shelves, and looked with regret at the immense library. Voldemort's chair was empty, as it had often been these days, and she wondered what he could be doing. No unexplained deaths had occurred according to Harry, Ron and Ginny, but that did not reassure her.

She hesitated to leave him a note, before changing her mind. She had nothing to say to him. No desire to thank him for anything. And leaving the castle would inevitably be recorded by his wards, so he would know anyway. As soon as she would be outside of it, they would be enemies again, and she would not be forced anymore to endure his insufferable smirks and pseudo-death attempts.

Hermione was at the library doors when she stopped suddenly in her tracks. It may be a bit childish, but she just had had the perfect idea to give Voldemort a taste of his own medicine.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	12. Chapter 11

Hi everyone!

Thanks for your reviews.

Here is the next chapter :)

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 11 - July 1994 - August 1994 **

When Hermione emerged from the fireplace of Grimmauld Place Harry, Ron and Ginny immediately hugged her.

"Well, you were dearly missed it seems Hermione," Sirius commented, standing in the doorway of the living room.

"Indeed," Hermione answered, forcing a smile.

She was having a hard time believing she had managed to get out of Slytherin Castle alive. Still quite alert, she quickly scanned all her memories, but they did not seem to have been altered. Seem. She resolutely pushed her anguish into a corner of her head. There was no way Voldemort would have already been able to bypass the vow. It was too soon, and she was therefore still protected against any impairment of her memories. And if he had been able to bypass the unbreakable vow, he would have never let her go away anyway.

"Let's go have some dinner kids!" Sirius offered.

"He's cooking now?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Sirius was about as bad in a kitchen as Hermione was herself, and her nervousness made her stomach a bit too sensitive to eat burnt food.

"Thanks Merlin no, but my mother cannot help but send food here when we're not at the Burrow," Ginny said. "Don't worry, everything will be edible. And you'll be able to go to sleep afterwards."

"Yeah, you look like hell Hermione," Ron commented without any tact.

"I'll need to discuss a few things with you before," Hermione indicated.

She knew that as soon as she would start sleeping she would probably be out for two days. The aging Potion must have poisoned her blood quite severely now, and her intensive usage of Oxomoco's spell would not have helped.

When they entered the dining room, the appealing smell confirmed Ginny's words, and Hermione greeted Remus, who was also present.

"How long will you be staying with us Hermione?" Their former teacher asked.

"I am not sure yet, Professor," Hermione replied. "I may need to go back to see my parents from time to time, but I will keep you informed of course."

"You're always welcome here Hermione. And haven't I asked you to call me Remus?"

"Thank you, Remus," Hermione said with a falsely contrite smile.

She saw from the corner of her eyes Ron roll his eyes. As if _he_ was not also pretending to be a child many times a day. But of course, Ron preferred to stage fights with Harry to keep a childish appearance, rather than paying attention to his language. Hermione assumed that the first solution was more fun the second for him. As a result, Ron often appeared as slightly too familiar with people they knew well in their previous lives, but he was fine with it.

"Ouch! Ginny!" Ron exclaimed suddenly.

He rubbed his ribs painfully and Ginny winked at Hermione, who answered with a smile.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort Apparated without a sound in the main hall of Slytherin Castle, the aforesaid main hall having been restored to its former splendour just a few days prior. Helen was gone. The information had reached him while he was in Knockturn Alley in search of some rare books, but he had first finished his business there before heading back.

It was with great satisfaction that he went to the library, to confirm the girl's departure. He would then finally be able to start the distillation of the Philosopher's Stone's Elixir of Life, and the ritual to trace the girl's location.

It took him a few minutes to reach the library, and he watched with pleasure all the new parts that the elves had restored, working upon Lord Voldemort's own restoration spells and family magic. He froze, however, when he passed the doors. In the middle of the library, bathed in a pool of blood, was Nagini's body, visibly lifeless. It seemed to him that his heart missed a beat, only one, before he reacted and drew his wand.

It still took him a few spells to realize that it was an idiotic illusion, and that Nagini was currently safe in his private apartments. If the subject of the illusion had not been Nagini, he could have appreciated the subtlety of the charms. But the girl had dare to taunt him with Nagini, and his resolution to kill her as painfully as possible intensified.

oOoOoOo

"Finally!" Ron said, closing behind him the door of Harry's bedroom. "Dinner's taken ages!"

"Tell us everything," Ginny asked eagerly.

Her three friends watched Hermione expectantly. They had tacitly agreed that Hermione would not write anything really important in her notebook, in case Voldemort somehow managed to read it, and hence they now wanted to know if she had found anything.

"Did you had any issues with Voldemort?" Harry asked, however, before Hermione could start.

Hermione shrugged. She was not going to tell in detail what had happened to Harry. In the best of the cases he would attempt to raid Slytherin Castle on the spot…

"Nothing really unpleasant," she said. "He tried to make me break the vow several times, but as long as I ignored his attempts he was not able to do anything else."

"It was a great thing you were the one staying there then and not Harry," Ginny commented. "He would never have been able to restraint himself…"

"I think Nagini's already a Horcrux," Hermione went on without paying attention to her friend. "He brought her back to the castle, and he kept her very close to him."

Harry, Ron and Ginny nodded. They all knew Voldemort would probably create Nagini's Horcrux quite fast…

"Have you managed to find anything regarding the sources?" Ginny asked.

They were all waiting hopefully, looking at her, waiting for her to tell them that she had found the solution and that their problems with the source were finally over. But as she was thinking about how to answer them their hopeful expressions started to flatter, and in a sudden fit of anger Harry even sent a chair crashing on one of the walls.

"Are you going to tell us that we did all this for nothing?" Harry cried out. "That I made this monster come back for nothing? That I put all our lives in danger for nothing?"

"Certainly not!" Hermione countered with force. "I have not found the answer, true, but we haven't done that for nothing either. And don't even try to take all the blame Harry. We all agreed that this was our best solution."

Harry calmed down, and apologized awkwardly. The whole situation was obviously gnawing him, and the look Ron and Ginny exchanged told Hermione that they were perfectly aware of it. Harry must have hated staying behind while she was alone at Slytherin Castle. He was used to be the one risking his life…

"I have not found anything clear," Hermione continued more slowly. "But I do have some new ideas."

"Some new ideas?" Ron asked.

"Some new ideas," Hermione confirmed. "I am not completely sure… But Salazar Slytherin describes in great details each of the topics he wrote about in his books. All except one. Magical sources. Yet he mentions them too often for them only to be a side interest."

The others listened attentively. What a difference from the first time they had been fourteen, when they all laughed at her bookishness every time she spoke...

"I've made a matrix of the different topics covered in all his books," she continued, taking out her notes from her bag. "And I tracked the number of times he spoke of each subject before or after another one, compared of course to the number of times a subject comes up."

Harry, Ron and Ginny leaned over the huge parchment she had just unfolded directly on the floor.

"If you look at the line, or the column, referring to the subject of the magical sources," she explained, highlighting only those, "you will see that the subject comes up very often before or after mentions about the other founders."

"Or Samhain and Beltane," Ginny pointed out.

Harry grunted with evident displeasure at the mention of Samhain.

"What's Njörd?" Ron asked, pointing out a box with a single interaction with magical sources.

"Interesting, isn't it?" Hermione answered. "There is only one interaction with the sources, but this is the only time Njörd is ever mentioned. He is a god from the Nordic mythology, the god of the sea and the winds. What is intriguing is that he has no connection with witchcraft. It's a Muggle god."

Hermione carefully folded the parchment and tucked it back into her beaded bag.

"How can we help Hermione?" Harry asked.

"We must find where are the books of the other founders," Hermione said. "Take one founder each, I'll take care of Njörd. For Samhain and Beltane we will see after, it's a too vast topic for us to look into it without more information..."

"What about Slytherin's books? Are you sure Voldemort has all of them?" Ginny inquired.

"No, I'm not sure. But if there are books that he has not been able to recover, it will surely be even more complex for us to get our hands on them."

"And in your library, don't you have anything coming from the founders?" Ron asked. "The Norfolk's library I mean."

"No," Hermione answered. "Well, there are few books written by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but there isn't any mention of the sources in them."

However, this did not exclude the possibility that there were some mentions of Njörd inside. She would need to check. And do some research on the resurrection ritual too. But later. Her eyes were already beginning to close on their own, and she was really looking forward to finally being able to sleep a whole night without being afraid for her life.

"One last thing Harry," Hermione said. "You should avoid getting near Voldemort. He seemed strangely suspicious of you two weeks ago, and my theory is that he felt the connection he has with you. With his Horcrux."

"Impossible," Harry retorted. "He had never felt it before! Well, not until I started to unconsciously use it myself at least."

"But he is not the same man as the first time around, we already established that," Ginny said. "I also noticed that he was looking a little too often at you, but I thought it was just because I was panicking."

"There's no way I'll stay back if you're going to face Voldemort!"

Harry seemed outraged they would dare to think something like that.

"Before we face Voldemort, we still need to find out how to remove your Horcrux," Ron pointed out. "We're not there yet."

Harry's stubborn expression was no reassurance at all, but Hermione was too tired for this specific debate.

"Burn your notebooks too," Hermione advised as she stood up to go to her bedroom. "We cannot be sure that he has not found a way to trace mine and thus yours."

"I'll charm new ones," Ginny offered.

Hermione thanked her with a smile and slipped out, and few seconds later she literally fall into the bad she had been attributed at Grimmauld Place, sleeping even before touching the mattress.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort watched with satisfaction as the first curls of essence rose above the seven drops of the Philosopher's Stone's Elixir of Life he was currently distilling. He had of course perfectly executed the process, and he now only had to wait for the results of the gas analysis spells. It would take several days to complete, and it was just the first step, but Lord Voldemort had plenty of time anyway.

And in the meantime, he was going to take care of tracking Helen's magic.

oOoOoOo

When Hermione woke up she felt like the air around her was thick and sticky, and the heat was hellish. She could barely breathe, and inhaling some air required an almost impossible effort. Her whole body was hurting too. A dull ache that ran through her limbs and numbed her thoughts.

She opened her eyes with difficulty, but her vision was blurry and everything seemed to move around her. She quickly closed back her eyes.

"Hermione?" she heard.

The tone was worried. Maybe Ron. Hermione tried to answer something but only a hoarse sound came out of her mouth. It had been a long time since she had felt so bad.

"Are you thirsty?"

She nodded very slightly, an intense pain immediately piercing her brain, but a few moments later she felt a straw settle between her lips and she drank gently. The few sips of water hurt her as much as they relieved her, seeming to burn down her oesophagus in the process.

"W... what..." she tried to ask.

"Shh, don't talk," Ron replied.

She was sure it was him now, and she tried to open her eyes to locate him.

"You got sick," Ron explained.

He was on her right, she could see a red halo that was surely his hair. She moved her head weakly, hoping to encourage him to continue.

"You spent several days with high fever, we had a hard time convincing Sirius and Remus not to send you to St. Mungo's."

Hermione felt slightly relieved. She vaguely remembered what had probably caused that. Poisoning due to too much usage of the aging potion. Not something really reprehensible but it was better that no one knew they were using this kind of potions.

"How..."

"Shush," Ron cut it. "By Merlin, you're even more stubborn than Harry! It's been four days Hermione. Ginny has fortunately managed to find an antidote yesterday."

Hermione's eyes widened as she heard that. Four days. It was way too long. The poisoning should have hurt her for weeks, with severe muscle pain, but not totally incapacitate her for so long!

"It's your spell against tiredness," Ron quickly informed as she stirred. "It aggravated the effects of the poisoning."

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. Sleep was already besting her will to stay awake.

"Stay strong," she heard Ron whisper.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort destroyed the furniture around him, his magic fuelled by cold rage. How dare she? How could she? It was exceedingly complex to protect oneself against magical signature localisation. But it seemed that, once more, he had been countered by the girl.

He had tried all he could to the locate her. And all he had managed to find was that they were in the vicinity of London. Or in London. Among thousands of other wizards. It was far from precise enough for him to do anything.

No, he would have to find some other way to locate them, and break through their identities. He had to know who they were, and what they were looking for. He could not afford to leave such threats out of his control. They would not escape. Nobody escaped him.

oOoOoOo

It was not until early August that Hermione finally managed to regain sufficient strength to stay awake for a few hours in a row, most of the time only in Crookshanks' company, Ginny having brought her cat back from the Burrow. Sirius, Remus and Molly Weasley had all come to see her several times, feeling sorry for her and trying to pamper her, and she had found them especially painful to endure. She loved the three of them, but being bedridden, and in addition supposedly still a child, she could hardly tell them to give her some space.

Yet she needed that space. She needed to continue her research now that she had new ideas. She needed to know what was Voldemort doing. She needed to do something, to make herself useful.

"I'm fine Sirius, I'm really feeling much better now," she repeated for the tenth time at least in a weary voice. "I'm really sorry for worrying you, I had no idea I would have a new attack right now."

It was the excuse that Harry, Ron, and Ginny had invented to avoid having her dragged to St. Mungo's. That she had a recurring Muggle disease that could not be treated by magic, that they had already monitored one of her attacks, and that the only thing to do was to wait. Hermione did not even know how Sirius, Remus and Molly could have believed it. Hermione hoped that her friends had not needed to resort to some confusion charms to achieve this result, but she was almost certain of the opposite.

"Give her some space, Sirius."

It was Harry, standing in the doorway with Ron and Ginny, and Hermione thanked him with a discreet nod.

"Ah kids, always convinced to be stronger than they really are…" Sirius said. "Fine, I'll let you talk to her, but Hermione should not stay awake too late, understood?"

"Yes Sirius," Harry said with a big smile.

Sirius quickly exited the room Hermione occupied at Grimmauld Place, and she rolled her eyes. She was twice his age and she had to let herself be mothered. Her friends quickly slid into Hermione's room and cast several privacy charms.

"So?" Hermione asked with a rather dry tone.

She was in a bad mood. So much time lost being sick. And she had even missed Neville's birthday - he had received from them enough money to buy himself his own wand - and Harry's - Hermione would have to find him a proper gift later. Furthermore, her friends had deliberately avoided her these past days, telling her that she needed to rest. As if not knowing what was going on was relaxing!

"We have no knowledge of Voldemort's actions," Harry began. "We don't know what he's doing, but for the moment there has been no attack, nor any unexplained disappearance."

It was reassuring, but Hermione could not really decide whether it was good or bad news.

"We've put a tracking charm on Lucius Malfoy," Ron added.

"You what?" Hermione cried out.

She straightened up in her bed, making Crookshanks fell from it. The cat yowled with discontent but Hermione ignored it and focussed on her friends. For Merlin's sake, could she not rest a few days without them having this kind of stupid ideas?

"It's not stupid!" Ron answered as if he had read her thoughts. "We have been especially cautious - Harry had taken his cloak - and thanks to the charm we'll know when Malfoy will be called by its master, it will be when our spell will be broken by Voldemort's wards."

Hermione scowled.

"You would have had to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic to do that, it's quite dangerous," she retorted.

"Hermione, we reopened the Chamber of Secrets, recovered Voldemort's Horcruxes, robbed Gringotts along the way and infiltrated Slytherin Castle's wards," Ginny enumerated. "Infiltrating the ministry was a cake walk!

Hermione sighed, admitting her defeat.

"As long as you did only that," she said.

"We may have left a hallucinogenic gas in Umbridge's office," Ron admitted.

Hermione should have been outraged by their foolishness, but instead she felt her lips stretch in a smile. Dolores Umbridge was the worst sort of human being, the one for whom she almost wanted to become a dark witch to eliminate them. A person whose cruelty had no limit, and who was driven by stupidity.

"We've passed near Bartemius Crouch, the father, too," Harry said. "He is... was not under the Imperium at that moment."

"But his son should have felt the mark coming back to life..." Hermione murmured.

"Indeed. However, in his father's house he cannot escape, even if he could break the Imperium," Harry said. "The first time he had freed himself was because he had managed to steal my wand. And the second time, it was Voldemort himself who came looking for him, freeing him and helping him to put his father under the Imperium."

"So you think it's better not to look for Bartemius Crouch, the son, actively, and wait until he shows up, potentially at the Quidditch World Cup?" Hermione asked.

Ron nodded and Hermione pursed her lips. She did not want to leave Bartemius Crouch without surveillance, well, way of talking, while Voldemort was active. But they could not really infiltrate the Crouchs' house, took down the father and the son, and then deliver them to the Ministry of Magic. It would raise too much attention. It would be easier to stage some kind of accident in a public place.

"What about Azkaban?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Ginny said. "No alert."

It was not surprising. It was surely too early for Voldemort to organize a massive breakout from Azkaban. He would probably want to avoid attracting too much attention in the early days of his return. Even the much crazier version of their early life had waited several months after his resurrection before doing such a thing.

"The ministry and the Order?" Hermione asked.

"The ministry..." Ron sighed. "I'm not sure if Dumbledore has shared his suspicions with Fudge, but if he has Fudge is again ignoring them. As for the Order, they gather here from time to time. They are looking for rumours about Voldemort, but for the moment nothing comes out, except that they are all very worried."

This was sad news. The mediocrity of the ministry. The anxiety of the Order. All this was their fault. And they would have to correct this error quickly.

"Predictable," Hermione commented simply.

"Sirius and Remus warned me of their suspicions about Voldemort's return," Harry informed her.

Hermione looked at him with surprise. She had not expected that.

"Sirius's the one who insisted," Harry explained, "and he managed to convince Remus that there was no point in hiding things from me. I am nowhere near being part of the Order, of course, but at least we are now officially aware of Voldemort's potential resurrection."

It was great. Everything they learned from external sources was not part anymore of the secrecy vow they had with Voldemort, letting them talk about it to anyone, giving them more leeway.

"And regarding the founders' books, have you found anything?" Hermione asked.

She saw her three friends exchange an uncertain look and uneasiness gripped her heart.

"What have you found?"

"We've made an inventory of all the writings of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw," Ginny said. "There are some books at Hogwarts, of course, and some in the Ministry too. But a lot of them are missing."

Hermione suddenly wanted to childishly lean back into her bed and bring her duvet over her head. She gave Ginny a beseeching look, but Ginny only replied with a grimace.

"No," Hermione whispered . "Don't tell me _he_ has them..."

"That's our best guess, that Voldemort tried to get the majority of those books, too," Ginny confirmed. "He always had this unhealthy obsession with the founders after all."

"Merlin, why does everything always revolves around him?" Hermione sighed.

"There are still the books in your library," Ron reminded. "And those at Hogwarts and in the ministry."

It slightly improved Hermione's mood. There may be a small chance that there was something in those books. It would be so much simpler.

oOoOoOo

Lucius was quietly chatting with Narcissa after they had finished dinning together with Draco when he felt his Dark Mark burn. He paled as his right hand went to his left forearm.

"Lucius?" Narcissa asked.

He got up suddenly, even more tense than he had been in the recent weeks. He had feared it, had even had nightmares about it, and now it was happening. He had not felt so scared for thirteen years.

"I have to go Narcissa," he said in a voice he managed to make sound confident.

He saw the flash of understanding in his wife's eyes and the latter rose and took his hands in hers, squeezing them gently.

"I'll wait for you," she said with faint worry.

Lucius withdrew his hands and nodded briefly towards Narcissa before walking at a rapid pace to the entrance hall, from which he could Apparate away. So the Dark Lord was really back. The life Lucius had so carefully built during the past thirteen years, his family, his son, all that was now at risk.

He had madly admired the Dark Lord in his youth. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had a mastery of magic that was simply unmatched, and he had not been afraid to tell the wizarding society it would be doomed if it continued to open up to Muggles. But the Dark Lord was also a wizard who tolerated no errors, and who had no patience nor mercy for the things getting in his way. He could very well kill Lucius tonight, for not looking for him after his fall like Bella and the others who were now in Azkaban.

Lucius finally arrived in the entrance hall, and after a moment of hesitation he Apparated. Before even looking around him to understand where he was Lucius looked for the Dark Lord. And as soon as he had located the imposing form draped in black he knelt before him.

"Master," he greeted with deference.

Then there was a long silence and Lucius had to struggle to remain impassive as fear seeped in deeper into him. He knew what would come next. The Cruciatus. Surely long and powerful. Or perhaps directly the Avada Kedavra.

"Rise Lucius," the Dark Lord ordered.

And it was indeed the Dark Lord's voice, cold, unforgiving, and Lucius obeyed hastily. He could not see the Dark Lord's face, hidden by the darkness of his hood, but only two red eyes that seemed to shine like the flames of hell. Lucius hastily lowered his head, and he discreetly scanned his surroundings. They were in a luxuriously decorated study he had never seen before. The Dark Lord stood in front of an imposing mahogany desk, his white wand clearly visible in his hands.

"Well Lucius, aren't you relieved to see me well and alive?"

The threat was clear in his voice and Lucius felt his insides freeze.

"Apologies, my Lord," Lucius said quickly. "It's ... it's just overwhelming to see you are indeed back. I had been waiting for any sign from you for a long time, at the slightest whisper of your whereabouts I would have been at your side immediately."

He wanted to shake himself up. He never stammered. He was Lucius Malfoy, the patriarch of one of the most powerful families in the wizarding world. But in front of the Dark Lord he was nothing, nothing at all, and he knew it only too well.

"Ah Lucius, so much devotion now that I'm actually back..." the Dark Lord said mockingly. "Crucio."

And Lucius screamed in pain, his whole body suddenly on fire. He fell to the ground, his legs unable to carry him anymore. His vision blurred and all his thoughts centered around the inhuman pain inside him.

Then the spell was raised, much faster than he would have expected, and Lucius clumsily went back to a kneeling position, all his limbs still shaking from the curse.

"I have always been faithful to you, my Lord," he said hastily. "I _am_ faithful to you, I beg for your forgiveness, my Lord. I only ask for the opportunity to prove my worth anew."

"I do hope you do," the Dark Lord commented sarcastically. "It seems you are now an important person in the ministry Lucius, aren't you?"

What did his master know? How informed was he? Was he going to blame him for some of his political actions in the last thirteen years?

"I am, my Lord."

"I want you to make me a summary of today's wizarding society. Who's behind the decisions in the government. Who are the powerful wizards. Who will oppose me. You have one week."

"It will be done, my Lord."

He could do that. Easily.

"And not a word of our meeting to anyone."

"Of course, my Lord."

Then Voldemort motioned for him to disappear from his sight, and Lucius hurried to Apparate away, astonished to be alive and with a task that was not impossible to accomplish. Unless the Dark Lord was just planning to wait for his report to kill him?

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	13. Chapter 12

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your reviews!

I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 12 - August 1994 **

Sirius Black thoughtfully looked at the people gathered in Grimmauld Place's living room. He had himself proposed Blacks ancestral home to Dumbledore for the Order's meetings, as Harry and his friends were currently at the Burrow for several days. And if many things could be said about the Blacks, having an unsecured house was not part of it.

The Order of the Phoenix was there in its entirety. All the veterans from the first war. Minerva and Dedalus Diggle. Alastor. Elphias Doge and Emmeline Vance. Mundungus Fletcher. Sturgis Podmore. Remus of course. Even fucking Snape. And the newer members where there also. Arthur and Molly, as well as their eldest son William, who was thinking about coming back to England if the threat became clearer, and Charlie who was visiting for the World Cup. Some of Sirius' colleagues too: Kingsley and his little cousin Tonks. And Hestia Jones, whom Dumbledore had recruited Sirius did not know where.

"Thank you all for coming today," Dumbledore began with his usual calm demeanour. "I have informed all of you a month ago about Voldemort's potential return."

Half of the assembly shivered at the Dark Lord's name.

"Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to get more detailed information," Dumbledore continued.

"Really?" Hestia Jones said curtly.

"How could that be?" Emmeline asked more calmly.

"What about him? He is really completely useless ?" Sirius complained loudly while pointing at Snivellus.

This whole situation was threatening Harry. His godson. His main reason for living now that James and Lily had died. They could not just wait idly. They needed to do something.

"Because you have been so useful yourself, mutt," Snape retorted snidely.

Only Remus's gaze stopped Sirius from cursing him. But it was true. Sirius had learned nothing from the aurors. Not even rumours.

"Please stay calm," Dumbledore asked. "We are all doing our best to find information. But for the moment Severus has not been called, and nothing suspicious has been found by anyone."

"I may have something," Mundungus jumped in.

Sirius looked at him with surprise. Mundungus was a crook of low calibre. Not someone that could be close enough to any circle the old Death Eaters were mingling in. There was no reason for him to know anything.

"Don't look at me like that you all," Mundungus muttered. "It may be a false alarm, and I would have not considered it if not for the headmaster's suspicions, but I was having a chat with some acquaintances two days ago… or perhaps three days ago… anyway, we were at the Smoked Dog, and there was a bunch of young people not so far from me."

That was more like Mundungus actual field of expertise, endless shabby bars like the Smoked Dog.

"They were drunk, obviously, and they were complaining about their work. Their work at Azkaban," Mundungus continued. "And they were saying the death eaters were growing surprisingly restless the past few weeks."

"They should have felt the Dark Mark coming back," Snape commented.

Sirius growled. As long as the information was only coming from Snape, he could still believe that it was a lie. But if indeed things were happening in Azkaban...

"Let's send one of our aurors to verify," Alastor said, looking at him and Kingsley.

"I'll go," Tonks said. "I should be able to clear some time for that, and you'll find an excuse to send me there, won't you?"

Alastor nodded - he was Tonks' direct manager - and it was decided. Then the silence hovered for a few seconds.

"Is that really all we have?" Arthur asked worriedly.

"Unfortunately," Dumbledore answered. "And that's why I encourage all of you to stay alert. Especially you Severus."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He still was not entirely convinced that this bastard was not working for the other side.

oOoOoOo

Hermione looked several paragraphs back, nervously flipping the pages of what could only be called an old dusty grimoire. The worst being that it was undoubtedly intentionally surrounded by a decrepitude charm to be in this state. It seemed that in addition to being an half-crazy dark wizard, the author also had a liking for unnecessarily macabre garnishments.

"Everything's fine Hermione?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked at her friend, who was reading a book about particularly crafty duelling spells, half lying on Harry's bed in Ron's bedroom at the Burrow.

"I think we've made a huge mistake," Hermione finally admitted.

Ginny merely raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"Only one?" she asked ironically. "I wasn't hoping for such a good news."

"The resurrection ritual I used to give him his body back, which was supposed to destroy his Horcruxes in the process, it's in fact not that clear if it destroys the Horcruxes, or only their vessels," Hermione slowly explained. "The author formulates that part in a very strange way, and I had considered that the ritual was destroying the Horcruxes, but I finally think that it was a mistake..."

It was a huge misinterpretation, and Hermione felt particularly annoyed with herself.

"It's not really a surprise," Harry commented. "It was obvious from the moment we spoke with him. Never would our Voldemort have had the patience to listen to us. He would have just sent us Avada Kedavras."

He was sitting on the ground, right at Ginny's feet.

"Our Voldemort?" Ron noticed. "I'm afraid that this Voldemort is also our Voldemort."

"It's a disaster," Hermione whispered.

They stayed silent for a moment.

"Stop looking into the ritual Hermione," Harry ordered. "What is done is done. You should focus on Njörd."

Hermione pursed her lips. Njörd. She had been to Norfolk's library a few days ago, carefully rereading the few books from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff that were there. If she already knew from her previous life that they had no useful information about the magical sources, she had hoped, however, to find inside a mention of Njörd that she would have forgotten. But no. Of course no. The name did not appear once, not giving her the slightest indication about where to begin her research.

Hermione had also sneaked into the Ministry's archives, but as every time she had been there – legally or not –, she had been thoroughly disappointed. Only copies of the most common books were stored there, the rare books being either kept in private collections or in Hogwarts' library. And predictably, none of the books in the Ministry's records mentioned Njörd. Not once. And neither was there any books written by the founder, those being automatically given to Hogwarts if they were found by the ministry.

Hogwarts' library might still provide her some answers, but she would need to wait several weeks to access it. The castle was closed to students during the summer, and getting into Hogwarts discreetly while Dumbledore was guarding it was not something she would chance.

Hermione suddenly felt discouraged at the amount of things they needed to solve, and the lack of solutions they had.

"One of us must also look into how to undo our unbreakable vow," she said. "We must warn Dumbledore now that the situation is out of hand. We have far more information than Professor Snape could ever provide."

"The most important thing is Njörd," Ron said. "The vow should come after."

Hermione looked at him dumbfounded. Voldemort seemed to her a much more urgent problem compared to the magical sources.

"Apart from summoning Lucius Malfoy, Voldemort has not really done anything for the moment," Ron explained, pointing to the stack of newspapers he was going through. "And we _need_ to understand what to do with the source before we can kill Voldemort again. Else we might end up in the same situation as the last time."

"If only we could just extort from him how he protects his library, steal all the books that are there and swiftly get rid of him…" Ginny sighed.

It would have been far better, but it was unfortunately impossible. It was a shame, Hermione would have loved extorting the information from that insufferable, psychopathic, aggravating self-proclaimed Dark Lord.

Hermione hoped that at least, they would manage to solve their problems before Voldemort realized that they had used his Horcruxes. The ritual she had executed to bring him back to life was obscure enough to guarantee them some peace for the moment, but he would eventually understand what they had done. Or perhaps he would even realize by checking his Horcruxes as a precaution at some random point in time. And he would then start to create new ones, making the situation even worse than it already was.

"There is no point for us to all look into Njörd. The topic is too obscure, and there won't be enough material to work with," Hermione said. "I'm fine with focussing on it, and I'm fine with not looking into the vow for now, but Harry and Ginny you should continue to look into Harry's Horcrux issue."

"That's what we were planning to do," Ginny agreed.

Hermione nodded and they all resumed their researches.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort observed Lucius for a few seconds. They were in his study at Slytherin Castle, and Voldemort had just gestured for Lucius to sit in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. The blond aristocrat was definitely uncomfortable, even though he was hiding it well, and Voldemort let the silence stretch just a little too long, enjoying Lucius' fear.

"May I offer you something to drink Lucius?" Lord Voldemort asked. "I have an excellent Firewhisky. Or perhaps you would prefer some wine?"

It seemed to unnerve Lucius even more, and Voldemort smirked.

"Thank you my Lord. A Firewhisky would be nice," Lucius replied with poise.

That was one of Lucius' main advantages. He knew how to behave in society, and he was not utterly stupid. With a nonchalant wand motion Voldemort conjured two glasses of Firewhisky. He slowly took a sip of his, before focusing again on his Death Eater.

"Speak Lucius," he ordered.

Lord Voldemort let Lucius detail the political and social situation in the United Kingdom for two long hours, asking him questions from time to time to clarify certain points. But most of the things Lucius told him he already knew. Fudge was an idiot. The Ministry of Magic was weak. Dumbledore still had too much influence. And there was not a lot of important people Lord Voldemort had not been aware of. And among those, none seemed to form a group of four.

They were trying to blend in with the crowd then. Because if their magical prowess had been known, Lucius would have talked about them. It was quite annoying. Lucius stopped talking as he noticed his irritation, but Lord Voldemort beckoned him to continue, not interrupting him until the end of his report.

"Are there any topics you would like me to detail more, my Lord?" Lucius asked.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort said.

Although it was not part of the mission he had been given, Lucius did not seem surprised by his question and proceeded to tell him what he knew about his prophesised enemy. A talented young boy it seemed. Voldemort would need to deal with him quickly. As soon as he would have solved his problem with the four very annoying wizards that were currently constantly on his mind.

Voldemort dismissed Lucius and the Death Eater quickly disappeared. Lucius had been a good servant during his first rise to power, and in the recent years he had managed to secure himself an important position in the Ministry that would be quite useful to Lord Voldemort. It was a good thing that he had summoned Lucius back, and he would soon share with him a tiny part of his plans, as well as his new face, so Lucius could assist Lord Voldemort in infiltrating the ministry.

oOoOoOo

When a jet black owl swept into Harry and Ron's bedroom at the Burrow, Hermione only briefly raised her head from the book she was reading, before the bird made it quite clear that the letter it was carrying was for her by landing directly on her book.

"Were you expecting mail?" Harry asked.

It was just the two of them currently, as Ron and Ginny were downstairs trying to discreetly influence the twins creations to have them develop earlier their most useful products.

"No, I wasn't," Hermione answered, unhooking the letter from the bird's claws.

The owl did not fly away, seemingly waiting for an answer, and Hermione looked at the letter. The parchment was of highest quality, and it was simply addressed to "_Helen_". She shuddered, and Harry immediately leaned toward her.

"It's from him?" he asked.

Hermione exchanged a worried look with her friend.

"Probably," Hermione whispered.

It was impossible, though. An owl could not locate someone with only a name. And Hermione had taken care to protect herself strongly against all the ways of tracing her and her magic. But obviously he still had found a way to reach to her...

"What do you think he wants?" Hermione asked.

She had her own idea, but Harry was the one who knew Voldemort the best. Well, at least their Voldemort.

"I guess he wants to know who we are and what we're looking for," Harry said. "To assess how much of a threat we are to him. He hates not being the one in control."

"That's not good Harry. He should not have been able to reach us..." Hermione said. "He could not have used my magical signature alone, that's for sure, but then, what has he done?"

She glanced suspiciously at the owl. Standing abruptly, she closed the window and cast a battery of complex spells over the letter and the bird, and the results she got were alarming.

"So?"

"He hijacked the postal network," Hermione said. "Charming the owl to follow the network in the specific area my magical signature was emitting, probably making it try all the different magical houses in this neighbourhood…"

She had to admit that it was a clever solution.

"He knows where we are then?" Harry asked with concern.

And with reason. There was currently no Fidelius charm around the Burrow, the only charm that could really hold Voldemort back.

"No, he doesn't," Hermione answered. "But he knows the approximate location now, he would have traced the owl. And the surroundings of Ottery St Catchpole are not very populated..."

It had been a mistake for them to accept to leave Grimmauld Place. In London there were too many wizards to try to find them using brute force. But there were only a few wizarding families around the Burrow... Once more, Hermione had underestimated him. She would have not though he would think about something like hijacking the official postal network, and managing to do so without being detected.

"We'll need to reveal our identities now, won't we?" Harry sighed.

"Yes. That's it, or taking the risk that he will visit all the families in the area to get the information from them..."

There was a very tiny chance he would not. It was a laborious process, especially if he wanted to remain discreet. But if he did, all the casualties would be their fault. And they could not endanger the Faucetts, the Diggorys or the Lovegoods just to maintain their disguise.

"Let's see what he wants ," Hermione decided.

Harry did not protest and she unfolded the parchment.

"_Dear Helen, _

_I could not help but notice that you have hardly had enough time to read completely the last works of Slytherin._

_If you ever want to access the books again, we could find an arrangement._

_LV_"

The parchment caught fire just as she finished reading and resolutely burnt her fingers in the process.

"If only I could kill him right now…" Hermione growled while healing her hand.

The message was clear confirmation that Voldemort had tracked what she had been reading at Slytherin castle. And if his words were not threatening, the real threat was in the fact that he had managed to send them to her. And that was probably the main message he had wanted to convey.

"What does he want?" Harry asked, not having been able to read the letter.

"He wants us to contact him," Hermione said. "To avoid having to go around all the wizarding families in the region in guess…"

The black owl hooted strongly, as if to signal its displeasure for waiting too long, and Hermione glared at it, even if it was in no way responsible for their situation.

"What should we answer?" Harry wondered.

"I think we should propose a meeting place and a meeting time," Hermione answered slowly. "I'll go with Ron and Ginny, they'll help me negotiate if needed. It would be useful if we could bargain an access to the books of the other founders."

Because Njörd was a very fickle track. She could not find anything about the god, or at least not anything in the wizarding literature, and she had no idea how to continue looking into it. She might need to go in Norway at some point in time, but she did not want to leave England while Voldemort was roaming free.

"I'm coming with you," Harry said.

"No, you're not. We cannot have him realize that you are his Horcrux, Harry."

"You need protection!"

"Ron, Ginny and me are good enough to face him, you know it as well as I do."

Harry folded his arms and glared at her, but it just made Hermione smile sadly. She would need to reinforce her protective spells. Especially on her emergency portkey. And it was also time to discreetly ward her parents' home and dental office. Just in case.

oOoOoOo

"It's a bad idea Helen, a very bad idea," Ron muttered beside her.

"I never said it isn't," Hermione replied. "But it is the lesser of two evils."

Ron huffed and Hermione rolled her eyes. They were in Scotland together with Ginny, in a completely deserted place, at the top of a hill that they had carefully charmed to detect the slightest attempt of magic from Voldemort's side. But it seemed that, if Voldemort had attempted to booby-trap the place, he had done it too subtly for them to detect it.

They were slightly in advance and their nervousness was increasing each minute. Hermione absent-mindedly scratched the scars Crookshanks had left on her arms when her cat had strangely understood that she was leaving once more.

Suddenly, Voldemort Apparated a few steps away from them, surrounded by an impressive black smoke that oozed power and dark magic. Hermione would have liked to look down on this unnecessary boasting, but to her utmost frustration it also slightly terrified her to witness such impressive raw power. It was quite fortunate that Ron, Ginny, and herself had enough self-control not to show any reaction to Voldemort's antics.

"Lord Voldemort," Helen greeted neutrally.

"Have you already lost one of your friends?" Voldemort asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

None of them bothered to respond.

"What it would cost us for you to let me access your library once more?" Hermione asked instead.

After all, it was the pretext Voldemort himself had used to contact her.

"I want to know what you're looking for," Voldemort said.

So Ron had been right when they had discussed it all together, Hermione thought. Voldemort had set some kind of trap at Slytherin Castle, probably something laced with the wards. Spells that would not hurt her, of course, as the vow they will take will prevent him from harming her, but spells that would target their secrets nonetheless.

And hence he was baiting them to accept the deal with such a small demand from his side. Unless, as Harry had argued, that he dearly wanted to be sure that their researches were not threatening him.

"That may be acceptable," Hermione said reluctantly.

She did not like that. She had no desire to share any information with him, even if it was not such a big deal for them to disclose their topic of research. But they had agreed before this meeting that they needed to have an access to the founders' books he could have, or at least to know if he indeed had them. And that they could not risk him finding another more violent way to discover their identities.

"We will tell you the title of the subject we are researching, if you give me a week with all the founders' books you have," Hermione continued.

"I want to know what you 're looking for, and _why_," Voldemort demanded.

The amount of persuasion he was able to put into his voice was simply incredible, and Hermione remembered what Harry had told her about the first meeting between Dumbledore and Tom Riddle. About this mastery of magically enforced persuasion that the young Voldemort already had at the time. But this kind of magic only worked on those who did not master Occlumency.

"No," Hermione answered curtly. "We won't tell you why, and it's not negotiable."

Voldemort's expression turned stormy and Hermione felt an icy chill go down her back. For the moment he had not attacked them, probably trying to make her follow him to Slytherin castle. But he could very well lose patience at some point and decide to find his answers otherwise.

"Three days then," Voldemort said.

"Five."

"Three. Days."

Hermione glanced at Ron, who shrugged slightly. They would not get anything else out of Voldemort.

"All right," Hermione agreed.

Hermione thought she saw a satisfied gleam in Voldemort's eyes, but it disappeared too quickly to be sure. It was however enough to increase her tension. She knew he would have found a way to breach though her glamour charms, which was already a quite bad news. But she hoped he was not also planning something else, something they had not even suspected.

Again, they took an unbreakable vow for what was not covered by the first one, i.e. their current negotiations and the interdiction to attack each other during the next three days; and too quickly Hermione was alone with Voldemort, who appeared to be far too satisfied for Hermione to relax.

"You must tell me what you're looking for," Voldemort asked.

"Magical sources," she answered calmly.

Voldemort seemed to tense slightly and Hermione restrained herself from smirking. Magical sources were an especially vast subject, and one without any known interest. Magical sources had always existed, magic continually flowing inside them without any apparent aim, but no one had ever been able to do anything with this magic, so it was quite a dead end subject for a Voldemort.

"Please come closer, I'll need to side-along Apparate you to the castle as I have changed the wards," Voldemort said blankly.

Hermione held back a shudder and cautiously approached, her wand still at hand, ready to react if needed. When she was close enough, he held out his left arm and his gaze clearly challenged her to take it. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hesitate, she took his arm with feigned indifference, as if he had been anyone else and not the most feared dark wizard in centuries.

"Pease proceed," she said in a falsely nonchalant tone as her heart was beating frantically in her chest.

She probably had not been able to fool him, because she could see the mocking smile on his lips before he Apparated them. She distinctly felt the moment when they crossed the wards around Slytherin castle, because it was also the precise moment when a spell began to attack her glamour charms, and even the aging potion. Voldemort was almost too predictable this time, she thought distractedly.

Hermione tried to counter the spell of course, her wand furiously twirling in her hand even before the Apparition finished, but quickly realized that it was futile. Whatever Voldemort had set up, it was clever and hard to counter. Even if she had prepared herself the past few days.

She had expected to lose this battle anyway, they had all agreed that they would have to lose this advantage, and their first vow would not allow him to talk to anyone about what he had witnessed, so it was not really an issue in the end. But it was still frustrating. Resigned, Hermione lowered her wand and felt her body shrink significantly and her hair become bushier and darker. Once she was back in her own body, she looked mockingly at Voldemort.

"So, are you satisfied now?" she asked ironically.

She was almost certain that her true appearance would only confuse him even more. Voldemort had moved away from her as she transformed back and his face reflected his perplexity, a strange emotion on his usually far too superior and far too disdainful perfect face. He had most probably not expected to see her become even younger than her false appearance, nor to have a perfect stranger in front of him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The tone was slightly uncertain, but no less imperative, and Hermione sighed. There was no point in lying, as he would be able to have her identity in less than a few hours knowing her true face.

"My name is Hermione Granger, and I'll be a fourth year student at Hogwarts next year."

She could not hold back a satisfied smile as she understood from Voldemort's annoyed look that he could not detect any lies in what she had said.

"A Mudblood," he murmured.

And this time there was a hint of contempt in his voice that made Hermione frown. It was not the term itself, she was quite used to it, nor the obvious lack of respect, but it was just so hypocritical of him to look upon her because she was a Mudblood. She was tempted to point it out, to remind him of his own origins, but of course she could not. It was not wise to hint him that they knew far more about him that what he could fear in his worst nightmares.

"I'm a mudblood indeed, and quite proud of it," she replied instead. "And don't expect me to apologize for besmirching your ancestor's home with my impure blood, I'm quite happy to do so."

Voldemort seemed taken aback for a moment, before pulling himself together and carefully arranging his expression in a totally neutral one, as if the strangeness of the situation was not worth more than few seconds of surprise. Hermione must admit that she kind of admired his self-control.

"And the others?" he asked dryly.

Hermione looked at him, biting her lower lip thoughtfully, and it made her appear even younger than her body ways. But knowing that it would be quite easy for him to find who were her friends even without her talking, she gave in.

"Virginia is Ginny Weasley, Ralph is Ron Weasley and Hadrian..."

She hesitated a second.

"Hadrian is Harry Potter. I suppose you've heard of him," she added wryly.

He did not react, and she understood that he had guessed Harry's name even before she decided to speak. He had probably done some research on Harry Potter's friends and acquaintances. Or perhaps he remembered them from his time with Quirrell, even if he would not have always been fully conscious at that point in time.

"Tell me who you really are," Voldemort finally demanded.

Hermione held his gaze without blinking.

"It's none of your business," she answered. "And I have no obligation to tell you that."

He could not hurt her right now. Nor for the three next days. But Hermione's satisfaction was only superficial, because the general situation was degenerating more and more. Voldemort should never have escaped. He should never have known what they were looking for. He should never have known who they really were. And yet it was now the case.

She'd have to warn Harry, Ron, and Ginny as soon as possible that their theories had been correct and Voldemort now knew who they were. Fortunately, Ginny had kept her word and had given them new communication notebooks Voldemort could not have traced yet. She would have to make new ones once more when Hermione would came back from Voldemort's castle.

But in the meantime, Hermione pulled out a vial of aging potion from her pocket, took a sip of it, and applied her glamour charms again. Voldemort knew her appearance, but there was no way in hell she would let potential death eaters know it too.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort distractedly twirled his wand between his fingers. Hermione Granger. A Mudblood that seemed to navigate with ease in the founders' books, most of them dealing with exceptionally advanced magic. A Mudblood who had held Salazar Slytherin's books in her hands. The poor founder was probably turning in his grave right now.

It had surprised him to learn that she was a Mudblood. Because he had found her magical knowledge less abysmal than those of the other wizards. Because two or three times her spells had bewildered him when she had spent two weeks here earlier in the summer, and it was not something that happened frequently.

Mudbloods were only slightly better than squibs. They did not know how to defend their own interests, preferring to submit to the goodwill of the pureblood in the vain hope of being accepted. Their need for social recognition drove them to be more than malleable. But Hermione Granger's attitude was very far from that.

And the others... Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley and especially Harry Potter. It was simply impossible. No wizard so young could have these abilities. He was not thinking of their magical power, which could be impressive regardless of age. No, he was thinking of their knowledge of spells, far too vast for mere children...

Who were not really children, Lord Voldemort was sure of that. Their behaviour, their knowledge, were those of adults without a doubt. But how could that be possible? Only the strangest assumptions could be made to explain that.

They were possessed by someone else. Someone powerful. But who? Dumbledore? Even the old coot could not control four wizards in a duel with such sharpness. And why would Dumbledore do that?

They were not Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ron and Ginny Weasley. But the Mudblood had looked straight into his eyes when she had given him her name, and he was sure it had not been a lie.

They were time travellers. After all, he had noticed that Hermione Granger had said her name, and her current situation, but not her age. But even magic had its limits. There was no ritual allowing to go back in time for more than a few hours. And even if by some miracle they had found one, the spatiotemporal coherence would have been destroyed in just a few day after they would have come back.

Their arrival had something to do with magical sources, as they were looking into them. But there was no way to use magical sources' magic. He had tried of course, as many wizards before him, but it had been impossible to make the magic deviate from its endless circling flow. And these… children… may be powerful, but they were still not better than him.

Voldemort tapped his desk with his free hand with some impatience. Hermione Granger would not speak. She had only revealed to him what he would have been able to find himself. And the vow unfortunately prevented him from making her talk.

He had to find a way to make them talk. Quickly.

oOoOoOo

Three days was too little time to even have an overview of all the books of the founders that Voldemort possessed. A collection that Hermione could not help admiring, while wondering how many people he had had to kill to get it all together, just as he had killed Hepzibah Smith to get Slytherin locket and Hufflepuff Cup.

Thankfully Voldemort had not bothered her this time. He had barely been there in fact, probably busy doing Merlin knows what. Perhaps searching for information about Harry, Ron, Ginny, and herself. Not that he could find anything compromising.

The few times they had seen each other, they had merely exchanged more than a few words and scornful looks. Looks that would have at some point in time made Hermione cover in fright, but that she could now perfectly ignore and reciprocate. After all, he would be far less proud if he knew that in her first life, he had died stupidly while trying for the third time to kill Harry Potter with an Avada Kedavra, even though the first time two attempts had been disastrous.

But three days had been long enough for Hermione to at least complete her map of the different topics addressed at the same time as the magical sources – it was easier when she did not need any more to hide what she was looking for from Voldemort. And her map confirmed her intuitions that the founders had something to do with the sources. She also found another notion of Njörd, this time in one of Gryffindor's books.

But despite this, the founders' books had not brought out any new information, no new ideas about how to continue her researches, and at the end of the three days Hermione found herself with a huge map of various and highly interesting topics, while still being as clueless as before regarding the sources.

She glared exasperatedly at the hundreds lines spread before her, as if it was somehow their fault, and almost by accident noticed a box that seemed to be an anomaly, a topic cited only once in a book from Helga Hufflepuff. It had nothing to do with the magical sources, but it was quite puzzling. What could be the link between Helga Hufflepuff and the Lateran Palace?

oOoOoOo

AN: See you in two weeks.


	14. Chapter 13

Hello everyone!

My apologies for the delay, I had been caught up by work…

Thank you very much for your reviews, and the favs and follows.

I hope you will like this chapter.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 13 - August 1994 **

Hermione frantically searched for her notes, bothering Crookshanks who, as usual, was sleeping on top of a stack of books.

"Hermione?" Ron asked worriedly.

She paid no attention to him, and turned Ron's desk upside down to try to find her notes on the founders' books. Where the hell could they have disappeared? Then her eyes fell on Ron's cup of coffee. That was nonchalantly settled on top of several parchments.

"Why is your coffee on my notes Ronald?" Hermione asked in a dangerous voice.

Ron grimace was far from being convincing enough for Hermione to believe that he was honestly sorry about that.

"Come on Hermione, it's not like your notes are not charmed against stains, you're better than that," Ron offered unapologetically.

He could be so annoying… With a sharp gesture, Hermione snatched her notes, pushing the coffee cup over the table. The cup shattered on the ground, leaving several scattered pieces of china on the carpet and a huge coffee stain.

"Hermione!" Ron cried out.

"Come on Ron, it's not like your carpet is not charmed against stains, you're better than that," Hermione said with a hint of venom.

The two of them glared at each other, refusing to be the first one to look away.

"Ron, Hermione, stop being such idiots!" Ginny stepped in.

Hermione only narrowly avoided the Bat-Bogey hex her redheaded friend cast after none of them had reacted.

"Ginny!" Ron whined as he struggled with the hex.

Hermione sniffed haughtily.

"Could we please have a civilized conversation between the adults that we are supposed to be?" Harry asked in a slightly brittle voice.

Hermione, Ron and Ginny turned towards Harry, who was slumped on his bed but somehow still managed to look at them with a disdainful boredom worthy of Draco Malfoy. Hermione sighed tiredly and sat in the chair in front of Ron's desk. She had left Slytherin Castle in the afternoon, but they had not been able to isolate themselves more than a few seconds during the rest of the day, the Burrow being as bustling as always. Hermione and Ginny had thus waited until everyone thought they were asleep, before slipping into Ron and Harry's room just a few minutes ago.

"What have you found, Hermione?" Ron asked.

This time his tone was apologetic, and Hermione smiled slightly. How many of their fights had started with her being too exhausted and Ron being purposefully annoying?

"He knows who we are," Hermione said, and her voice sounded pitched.

"We know he knows who we are," Harry answered calmly. "You had already confirmed it through the notebooks, and we were expecting it anyway. Tell us about your findings."

Hermione closed her eyes for a second. How could they be so calm? Voldemort knew who they were now! And she had seen it, his sly smile on his aristocratic face, promising her that he would track them down, and kill them as soon as he got some answers to his questions. Telling her that he was convinced they had not even the slightest chance to oppose him. And she may have dismissed him with false nonchalance when she had been with him, but she knew the threat was real. And Harry, Ron and Ginny were clearly underestimating the danger.

Unless they had themselves news so bad that Voldemort's threat had been pushed into the background?

"Is there an issue with the magical source? You were supposed to go there for a check yesterday, weren't you?" Hermione asked.

Harry, Ron and Ginny winced simultaneously and Hermione sighed heavily.

"The deviation has started, hasn't it?" Hermione asked wearily.

"Yes, it has…," Ginny replied. "But I was using a new spell I had just finished to craft to be more accurate in our estimations, so it is quite possible that it had been deviating for several years already without us being able to detect it previously."

Hermione was sorely tented to ask Ginny to be more precise about what spell she had used and how she had managed to improve its accuracy, but it was hardly the good time for that.

"Does the deviation seem direr than in our world?" Hermione asked.

"Hard to say," Ginny answered. "But I think it isn't."

It was a meagre comfort.

"What about your findings Hermione?" Harry asked again.

"He does indeed have most of the founders' books," Hermione said. "Even some that are not even referenced today. Including Ravenclaw's diary. This one had been missing for centuries! I was not able to read it in details, but…"

"Hermione," Ron cut her in a jaded tone.

"Fine, fine, who am I after all to try to educate you?" Hermione replied. "In a nutshell, I am pretty certain now that there indeed is a link between the source and the founders, but I do not know what link. And I have found another mention of Njörd."

"Have you had enough time to look through the books, or will you need to return there?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shook her head. She had no desire to see Voldemort again anytime soon.

"I'm fine, and I am pretty sure I will not find anything else via the founder books, they never detail the subject, and they would have mentioned it if any of them would have detailed the subject somewhere. I will look into the ones in Hogwarts, of course, but I won't try to find the ones potentially in private collections until I have something more tangible. For now I'll focus on Njörd."

"All right," Ron said. "How long do you think you will need to sleep?"

"I'll probably wake up late tomorrow, but that should be it," Hermione dismissed. "I still have a few topics I need to discuss with you however."

Voldemort. Their unbreakable vow. Harry's Horcrux. The Quidditch World Cup.

"No way , you are going to bed. Right now," Harry said.

"But..."

"Listen to him, you look awful anyway," Ron pointed out with a smirk.

"I'm not…"

"Go to bed Hermione, we won't talk more with you tonight," Ginny added.

"Are you serious?"

Hermione looked incredulously at Ginny and noticed her stubborn expression. Then at Harry who seemed even more obstinate. And finally at Ron who just shrugged. Hermione resigned herself to go to bed. If Voldemort overthrew the Ministry tonight, too bad for them.

oOoOoOo

"Hermione."

Hermione only absently noticed the voice, all her attention focused on the dull pain running through her whole body.

"Hermione, it's time to get up girl."

Then a firm hand shook her shoulder gently. Hermione grunted very ungracefully before reluctantly opening her eyes.

"Ah Merlin thank you," Moly Weasley said. "I was beginning to fear it was a new crisis."

She seemed clearly relieved, and Hermione felt a little guilty for worrying her so much. Behind Molly she noticed Ginny, who smiled apologetically at her.

"Please forgive me," Hermione said with difficulty. "I stayed up a little too late last night to finish a book."

Molly Weasley appeared slightly exasperated, and told her gently that lunch will be served in ten minutes. Then she left the room, dragging with her a reluctant Ginny to finish setting the table.

Hermione sat up with a grunt, feeling as if she had not even slept one hour. But she knew it was just the backlash of not having slept at all during the three days she had spent at Slytherin Castle, using every minute she had to browse the founders' books.

She hesitated to take a potion but finally decided against it. Energizing potion were quite addictive, and she had a presentiment that they were far from being out of trouble yet, so it would be better to save such solutions for even more difficult days.

She did not really participate in any of the discussions during lunch, but as it was revolving mostly around Quidditch, nobody noticed anything unusual about her silence. And it was not like she would have had anything to say anyway. After all, she already knew that Viktor would catch the snitch , but that Ireland would win.

oOoOoOo

As soon as Lucius had left his study, Lord Voldemort unveiled several documents previously concealed from prying eyes and eyed them critically. He did not need a lot of sleep, rather the other way round, but it still seemed as if he was running out of time.

Although the general policy of the Ministry of Magic had not really changed since Lord Voldemort's demise thirteen years ago, the actors were still different. And since he needed to infiltrate it as soon as possible he had quite a lot to catch upon, and he would need to have eyes and ears everywhere. Lucius was a first step, a well placed on, but he was only the first link of a larger chain. Lord Voldemort will soon need to reconnect with the others. Alecto and Amycus. Avery. Yaxley. Crabbe and Goyle. Gibbon. Macnair. Nott. Rowle. Selwyn. Maybe not all at the same time though. Not all of them would be useful when it came to the Ministry of Magic. Avery, Yaxley and Nott should suffice at first. He would summon them tomorrow.

He would have to watch Dumbledore too. There was still Severus with him, but could he really trust him now that his spy had spent years with the old fool? Dumbledore may be partially senile, but he was none the less annoyingly persuasive. And if Severus was undoubtedly leaning towards dark magic there was also the fact that Severus had asked him to spare Potter's Mudblood. And that Lord Voldemort had killed her in the end. Snape could very well join Dumbledore's side just out of spite. No, now was not yet the time to contact Severus. For the moment leaving Dumbledore in the dark was a must.

He had many of his followers in Azkaban too. Bellatrix. The Lestrange brothers. Antonin Dolohov. Mulciber. Augustus Rookwood. Jugson. Travers. Pettigrew. And some other, less important ones also. But attacking Azkaban without revealing his return to the public was tricky, and if he had the feeling that Fudge would be stupid enough to ignore the first signs of his return, he was not sure how far Fudge would go to deny it. No, it was still too early for Azkaban, although he could still plan to go there for recognition purposes in the following weeks.

He also had to add to all this Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and their two redheaded sidekicks. He did not have even the slightest idea about why Dumbledore's golden boy and a Mudblood had bothered to resurrect him to investigate magical sources of all subjects. And he hated it. He was missing something there, and it was infuriating. The Mudblood had not answered any of his questions during the three days she had spent there. The insolent fool. He would make her pay as soon as he had the opportunity to do so.

And then there was this prophecy with Potter. No wonder they knew it. Dumbledore must have told it to Potter. But it was surprising that they had been ready to share it with him. It still pointed to Potter as the only one who could defeat him... He would need to strike fast. The longer he waited, the more Potter progressed. And, even if it pained him to admit it, this Granger Mudblood was not to be underestimated either. But he was not yet able to organise the kidnaping of the four children, or even one of them. Especially as their duelling skills were not to be taken lightly…

He was going to have to watch them closely. While working on nullifying his part of the unbreakable vow. And perhaps also have a look at what ritual they had used to resurrect him.

oOoOoOo

Most British wizards never Apparated beyond the United Kingdom. Not only was the Apparition more and more difficult with the distance, but there were also some ministerial wards around the United Kingdom that monitored unauthorized passages.

But for Hermione it was child's play. She had always preferred Apparition to Portkeys, and when she had had to make frequent trips abroad for the Ministry of Magic in her first life, she had quickly applied for and obtained an International Apparition Permit. The fact that she did not have a permit this time did not change much. The various ministries were taking the wizards for such incompetent idiots that national security barriers were hardly difficult to circumvent.

And so the night between August 23rd and August 24th, Hermione discreetly left the Burrow and found herself a few minutes later in the middle of St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City. She then slipped into the basement using her animagus form, then into the Vatican archives using concealment spells. It was simplistic, because the wizards had never been particularly interested in the Vatican, or at least not for several centuries.

Darkness reigned in the archives, but Hermione needed only a few spells to progress easily between the shelves, and in less than ten minutes she stood before her objective, her eyes fixed on the edge of a book. "_A strange dream_ ", by Helga Hufflepuff.

She took it off the shelf carefully, almost reverently, and looked at it attentively. It seemed overly plain for a book written by one of the founders a thousand years ago. Standard ink, standard parchment, nothing special. The only traces of magic she could detect were from a simple conservation charm, allowing it to remain in pristine condition.

Why was this book never referenced anywhere in the wizarding world, except for a small line in one of Rowena Ravenclaw's books? Hermione had no idea. And why had it been preserved by the Vatican authorities, first in the Lateran Palace, then in the secret archives under the city? Why would have Helga Hufflepuff wanted this? But perhaps it was just a strange coincidence that had landed this book here...

Hermione checked that she was still alone and settled at one of the tables. Carefully, she opened the book and started flipping through it. It was a compilation of short stories. Stories that spoke of places and things completely legendary and unreal. Like this passage on the Atlantis.

"_After his brother's affront, Zeus ordered the Heliopaths to rise and burn down the city. They flew all over it, their powerful breath seeming to come straight from hell, as if Hades was backing Zeus' fury. And despite the power of the waves, Poseidon's city was conquered, sinking together with its treasures._"

And everything was in the same style, describing a subject only for a few lines before changing without any logical transition. Hermione already felt the disappointment flew through her. If she had come here mostly out of curiosity, she had hoped that perhaps, perhaps she would find something useful in this book.

"_And with his three allies, the man stood up to Death. One was protecting his body, the other was lending him his strength, and the third was tying him to his dead ancestors._"

"The hallows," Hermione whispered.

It was vague, and the passage could speak of something else, but it corresponded strangely enough to the deathly hallows. The cloak, the wand, and the ring. Hermione pushed further.

"_Hammurabi, in addition to his legal texts and his great conquests, also left after his death a new revolutionary approach to arithmancy, in the hidden library of his second palace._"

This was also strangely making sense, as the hidden library of the ancient Babylonian king was discovered some hundred years of this – long after Helga Hufflepuff had written her book by the way –, and there indeed had been some valuable arithmancy theories in it.

Could it be possible that this book was not actually about legends, but about real places, real events? But Heliopaths could not be real... nor the Atlantis. Perhaps it was a mix of both? Damn, Hermione hated books that were not based on facts, but just random ramblings… Focusing again she continued to read, wondering which part was real, and which part was incoherent nonsense. Until she read an unexpected paragraph.

"_And all four of them danced around the magical source to celebrate their success. The Knight and his sword. The Wise and her diadem. The Politician and his medallion. And the last one made them all drink from her cup._"

The paragraphs before and after had nothing to do with the magical source, but this passage was precious. Could it be that the founders relics had a connection with the source? It was the first time they were mentioned together.

Hermione finished reading the book, but there was no other mention of the sources. Nor of the founders relics. Not even of the other founders. She stretched and got up, putting the book on the table. Unlike most other books of the founders, it did not even have a charm preventing her from copying it magically, and Hermione quickly made a duplicate. Perhaps when their problems with Voldemort and with the source would be resolved, she could look at the other topics Hufflepuff touched upon in this book.

Then she put the original book back on its shelve, erased all traces of her presence in this place, and sneaked out of the Vatican.

oOoOoOo

Severus quickly came out of the fireplace, not a single ash remaining stuck on his robes. Immediately an elf appeared before him.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor," the elf said, bowing. "Master is waiting for you in the silver sitting room."

Severus immediately mowed towards the indicated sitting room. It was usual for him to be invited for diner at the Malfoys during summer. But this year there had been no invitation before this one, and Severus knew very well why. Lucius was scared, afraid that Severus would confirm that his Dark Mark had also woken up. But he had slipped a word to Lucius that it had been a long time since he had seen him, or his charming wife, or his godson, and that would have been too suspicious for Lucius not to extend an invitation to him.

"Severus," Lucius smiled when he entered the living room.

But Severus immediately noticed that his smile was forced, and that his friend seemed more tired than usual.

"Lucius," Severus greeted.

"May I offer you something to drink my friend?" Lucius offered.

Severus nodded sharply, and he quickly found himself with a glass of an excellent Firewhisky in his hands. He took a sip of it, and felt with delight the alcohol burn his oesophagus. Lucius stayed silent, and Severus stared at him pointedly. Finally, the blond closed his eyes for a brief second.

"My apologies Severus, but I am not of good company these days. I have not been able to sleep properly since the beginning of the summer," Lucius said.

Severus nodded, more gently this time.

"I thought as much," Severus replied sternly.

Unfortunately Lucius did not elaborate, and changed the subject towards Draco's studies. Then it was time for dinner and Severus knew he would not get any more information. If Lucius had been in contact with the Dark Lord, he would not talk about it, and Severus would not have anything useful to bring to Dumbledore, as usual.

oOoOoOo

"Does anyone has any idea about how we can deal with Voldemort?" Harry asked.

As usual they were in Ron's bedroom at the Burrow, their conversation protected by a carefully crafted net of discretion and confusion spells. Tomorrow they would have to get up early to go to the Quidditch World Cup, but for now they still had some time to discuss important matters.

"As long as we don't find a way to remove your Horcrux, we're stuck," Ron said.

"Then why not try the same thing as the last time?" Harry said. "If I duel him, he'll probably cast an Avada Kedavra at some point and kill his own Horcrux once more."

Hermione dropped the cup of tea she was holding in one of her hands, and looked at Harry as if he was raving mad.

"We don't even know if it is possible to extract the Horcrux from my scar without killing me, while we know that this solution works," Harry argued stubbornly.

"That's really the stupidest thing you've said in years," Ginny commented with evident disapproval.

Hermione did not know how Harry could even think one second that it was a good idea.

"Even if we let you follow this foolish plan, it probably won't work," Hermione pointed. "He will not kill you."

"And why not? I'm pretty sure I can annoy him enough to cast an Avada if needed."

Hermione nearly let out a grunt. She could not deny Harry had an ability to be particularly annoying, and right now, her own right hand was itching to send him an unpleasant spell. But it was probably mostly due to her own lousy day. She had been in Knockturn Alley this morning, to check in new books what had gone awry with the resurrection ritual she had used. And it had confirmed her that she had indeed misunderstood what would happen to the Horcruxes in the ritual. It was now certain that they had not been destroyed, but reabsorbed by Voldemort.

"He won't kill you because he's going to feel the Horcruxe," Hermione reminded Harry. "Or had you already forgotten this slight detail?"

"But will he really feel it fast enough?" Harry asked gravely.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "But the risk's not worth it, don't you think?"

Harry groaned something that sounded vaguely like a "fucking Dark Wizard".

"We really should have sacrificed Pettigrew's hand and done this abominable ritual Voldemort had used the first time so he would still have been insane," Ginny commented. "He would have been easier to control at least."

"I probably would have managed to also screw this one up," Hermione muttered.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her remark, but Hermione kept her focus on Harry, who what visibly unhappy with their opposition. Hermione wondered briefly if he was going to blurt out an even more rambunctious idea.

"I don't want to stay in the background without doing anything!" Harry exclaimed. "According to the prophecy, I'm still supposed to be the one vanquishing him!"

The mention of the prophecy provoked various degrees of disbelief among Ron, Hermione and Ginny, as Harry generally pointedly refused to speak about it.

"Harry," Hermione said softly. "We all know you don't like to stay behind, but we really cannot have Voldemort knowing you're his Horcrux. Our best lead to get out of this situation is to have you and Ginny continue looking into how to get rid of this Horcrux."

"Fine," Harry said dryly. "But why does the fact that I still have his Horcrux prevents us from moving forward? We could still kill him right now. He will be less dangerous as a spectrum."

"We're not sure we can beat him in a duel," Ron said.

"We can always try, can't we?" Harry said. "I'm not afraid to face him again!"

"It's completely stupid," Ginny said, raising her voice. "You want us to just go and sacrifice ourselves? What do you think will happen if he wins? If all the four of us die? Who would be left to oppose him? Dumbledore? Dumbledore's power already declining, and he is not even aware of the Horcruxes' existence, and probably won't ever be as we have destroyed the Diary!"

And they would not be able to tell anything to Dumbledore. If the unbreakable vow they had taken with Voldemort prevented him from revealing anything unknown about them to anyone, it also prevented them from revealing anything they knew about Voldemort to anyone. So no hinting about Horcruxes to Dumbledore.

They had reached a dead-end there. And this situation could not continue.

"So what, we don't do anything?" Harry asked.

"We're doing something," Ron replied. "We're training to have more chances to defeat him. And we're watching all his movements to be able to counter him."

Harry grunted but seemed to give up the idea of duelling Voldemort. For now at least.

"Shouldn't we discuss what we should do with Bartemius Crouch?" Hermione asked.

The change of subject was abrupt but it managed to dismiss the tension their previous conversation had created.

"It shouldn't be too complicated, should it?" Ron said. "He will be in the top box with us, so we just need to _inadvertently_ remove his invisibility cloak."

"Barty Crouch arrest will create a huge scandal," Hermione pointed out.

"And why should we care?" Ginny asked. "The only thing that worries me is that Voldemort will know that Barty is still alive."

"Fudge will probably ask to have Dementors kiss him within a minute," Harry commented.

"But if Fudge does not act fast enough, and Voldemort is involved, won't he try to free his loyal Death Eater?" Hermione asked.

The silence stretched slightly, while everyone pondered the ins and outs of the potential capture of Bartemius Crouch Jr.

"No," Ron finally said. "The event will be too public, Fudge won't be able to have Barty kissed without a trial. And a trial will send Barty to Azkaban. Even when Crouch senior was the prosecutor he did not swoop as low as to subject Death Eaters to the kiss, and Bones is far less ruthless than he was."

"But what about Voldemort's intervention? He could interfere with the trial. Or just break Barty out of Azkaban." Hermione said.

"He could, but he won't," Harry said. "He won't sacrifice his own discretion for one of his Death Eater if Barty if not in immediate danger."

Hermione nodded. It was true that Voldemort would not do anything that was in conflict with his own agenda. Even for one of his closest follower.

"Do you think Lucius Malfoy will still do his little stunt with the Death Eaters' masks like the last time tomorrow?" Ginny asked.

"No, no way in hell." Harry replied with a smirk. "He won't do anything this stupid now that he knows that Voldemort is really back."

Hermione smiled slightly. If anything could be said about Lucius Malfoy, it was indeed his superior self-preservation instinct...

oOoOoOo

"If only it was not that Bagman idiot that was holding the bets, we could have made a fortune," Ron sighed.

"It's not like we're running out of money, Ron," Harry pointed out. "You know perfectly well that my vault is also yours. And we can always break into Gringotts if we really need it at some point!"

"Harry!" Hermione shouted, outraged.

"What about robbing Voldemort's vault?" Ginny proposed eagerly. "He probably has one, hasn't he?"

"I forbid all of you to even think about that," Hermione said sternly. "And I strongly doubt that Voldemort keeps all his money in one place, he's far too paranoid for that. And Ron, look at the bright side. At least you've managed to convinced Fred and George not to stupidly bet all their money on the match."

Ron and Ginny looked at her as if she was a killjoy. Hermione ignored them regally.

"Hey Hermione, are you going to date Krum just to preserve the spatiotemporal coherence?" Ron asked a moment later with an amused smile.

"Why, you still want one of his autographs?" Hermione answered ironically.

"Frankly, you had made all Hogwarts girls madly jealous, Hermione, that was really a great sight," Ginny said. "And made my stupid brother jealous also, of course."

"How did Hermione make Ron jealous?" Fred asked.

Hermione jumped, not having noticed that the twins were now walking right next to them, Charlie, Bill and Percy just a few steps behind.

"She won against him in chess," Harry improvised.

It was a shameless lie. Hermione knew how to play chess, but her abilities stopped there, while Ron was a true genius at the game. And the latter indeed seemed outraged by Harry's lie.

"Really?" George said, "That's amazing!"

"Magical even," Fred added.

"It only happened once," Ron grumbled.

"And he was sick," Hermione added compassionately.

"And here is the stadium!" Arthur Weasley happily announced, both him and Sirius having caught up with the group.

Hermione especially noticed the vertiginous stairs that they would need to climb. It took them ten minutes to reach the top box, and when they entered it most of its occupants were already there. They had deliberately delayed the Weasleys this time to not be among the firsts. And indeed their little stunt was going to have spectators. Fudge course, the Bulgarian Minister for Magic, some ministry's personalities, the Malfoys, and Winky hiding her eyes in her hands. Only Ludo Bagman was missing, but as he was going to arrive just in time for the start of the game it was hardly surprising.

After tense greetings with the Malfoys, the Weasleys, Sirius, Harry and Hermione walked to their seats. And Hermione stumbled deliberately, falling on the seemingly empty seat where Barty Crouch was, resolutely catching the invisibility cloak when she felt it under her fingers. Barty tucked into it violently, and she was thrown in the air, but her grip on the cloak remained firm.

Confused shouts broke out and Hermione heard some hurried footsteps around her. Then there was a flash of a camera, and some new screams, and Hermione even heard someone cast a spell as her head hit a hard surface violently, and she sank into unconsciousness.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort looked thoughtfully at the Daily Prophet's issue of August 26th that was spread out in front of him. Not at the front page that was about Ireland's victory despite Viktor Krum's allegedly spectacular performance, but at an article two pages later that recounted the incident in the top box.

The fact that Barty was alive was a real surprise. Lucius had told him about his trial, and about him dying in Azkaban, but Lucius obviously did not know everything. What did not really surprise him, however, was the fact that the article clearly explained that it was the Mudblood, Hermione Granger, who had supposedly stumbled and had fallen by chance on Barty, tearing out the invisibility cloak he was wearing.

His eyes fell on the picture. Barty, half-visible, seemed horrified, a glimmer of wild dementia in his eyes. Lucius and Narcissa were wearing a perfectly crafted mask of shocked surprise, unlike their son whose eyes were coming out of their sockets. Fudge looked stupid – unsurprisingly –, and the Bulgarian Minister for Magic, Oblansk, seemed rather pensive. There was an odd tide of Weasleys in the background, and this scatter-brained Sirius Black that was supposed to be Potter's godfather.

The centre of the photo focussed on Hermione Granger's fall, and her face was not reflecting fear but concentration as she clutched Barty's invisibility cloak while Barty was pushing her away. Harry Potter was rushing towards her, but could not stop her head from violently striking the railing. According to the article she was supposed to be out of danger. A shame. He would have been delighted to learn that this far too talented Mudblood would have died such a mediocre death.

Lord Voldemort had a hard time believing it was a coincidence that the Mudblood inadvertently fell on Barty Crouch. But how could she know something that he himself was not aware of? How could she know that Barty Crouch was alive? And that he was present at the Quidditch World Cup finale?

Distractedly Lord Voldemort swirled his wand between his fingers. He was not yet influent enough in the ministry to have Barty's trial arranged in his favour. But that would be only a temporary concession. He had too many of his followers in Azkaban not to attack the prison at some point.

And this event was also in some way beneficial to him: Bartemius Crouch senior would inevitably be out of the political sphere after this scandal, leaving only Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour among the heads of departments he could not handle easily.

It did not change the fact that he had to find a way to deal with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and the two Weasleys quickly. Because for the moment he had reached a dead-end there. And this situation could not continue.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	15. Chapter 14

Hello everyone!

Thanks for the reviews / favs / follows, they're always appreciated.

I hope you will like this chapter.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 14 - August - September 1994 **

The end of the summer passed much too fast after the Quidditch World Cup finale. Finale that Hermione had only seen partially, because she had spent most of it in the stadium's infirmary. Not that she particularly regretted it, it was Quidditch after all, but she would have liked to see Viktor manoeuvring in the air, and not only for a few seconds before catching the snitch.

The top box incident nearly threatened to postpone the World Cup finale, but the aurors had managed to act very efficiently, arresting Barty Crouch and Winky in a few minutes without anyone outside the top box being aware of it, and it had been decided to maintain the match.

The night after the Quidditch World Cup had been festive and highly alcoholised - Ron having discreetly cast a spell turning any liquid falling in their glasses into Firewhisky to Hermione's utmost disapprobation – and fortunately, no pureblood morons had interrupted the evening. Harry had been right to assume that Lucius Malfoy would not dare to do anything without Voldemort's permission now. Only Percy had seemed tense, even after a few drinks, and Hermione knew he had been worried for his carried now that his boss' Death Eater son had been arrested by the aurors.

The following days they had to retrieve their school books from Diagon Alley, gather all their belongings spread all over Grimmauld Place and the Burrow, and before they knew it they were back in the Hogwarts Express for the beginning of their fourth year. Who was starting with a resurrected Dark Lord they had no concrete idea how to deal with.

At least, they all knew in which direction to progress. Ron would continue to monitor everything that was happening in the United Kingdom and around the world to track down Voldemort's actions. Harry would focus on the Horcrux problem with Ginny. Hermione would remain the orchestrator of everything regarding magical sources – including the founders' relics and Njörd –. And on top of that, Hermione and Ginny would also have to find some time to study the unbreakable vow they had taken with Voldemort, in hope to nullify their own commitment one day.

"Being in Hogwarts will hinder us a lot," Ron sighed as he stretched himself on the seat.

"At least Voldemort cannot reach us in Hogwarts. And you're family should be safer as we're no longer with them," Harry said.

"Our family tends to be in danger anyway, with or without us," Ginny said. "Bill's looking for work in London to be closer to the Order, and Charlie will be coming back for the first task of the tournament."

"And that's supposed to reassure me?" Harry asked ironically.

"You do know that Dumbledore has placed wards on all the families of the Order's members," Ron completed. "They are as safe as they can be."

Hermione bit her lip anxiously. Sirius and Remus may be safe at Grimmauld Place, and the Weasleys may be well protected by Dumbledore's wards, but she was worried for her own parents. She had herself cast powerful wards around them, ones that should be as powerful as the ones added around the Burrow by Dumbledore, but on the opposite of the Weasleys, her parents were not wizards and would not be able to defend themselves if anything happened to her wards.

She had hesitated, of course, to send her parents to Australia as she had done the previous time around. But she did not wanted to. Her spell had had dramatic consequences the last time. Both of her parents had suffered from memory loss after the end of the war, and her mother had even developed Alzheimer's later in life, leaving her father heartbroken. She had no wish to witness that again.

Soon Luna and Neville entered their compartment, and then Dean and Seamus joined them, and they stopped talking about such sensitive matters. Thus, instead of having a constructive discussion, they talked about what happened at the Quidditch World Cup finale.

They even had the dubious honour of having Draco Malfoy visiting their compartment, who called Hermione a Mudblood and looked at the others with such childish disdain that it was obvious that he did not know Lord Voldemort was back. Ginny and Ron wept with laughter for several minutes after that, to the utmost confusion of Neville, Dean and Seamus who had been outraged by Malfoy's attitude.

When the Hogwarts Express began to slow down, and everyone isolated themselves to change quickly, the good-natured atmosphere disappeared and Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, letting her head rest on the wall behind her. The past years they had had the upper hand. They had known what was going to happen, they had known how the people would react, and they had known what they were doing.

But now there was a huge uncertainty about Voldemort's behaviour. And they had no control at all over him. Especially over that sane version of him that was even more terrifying than the one they had fought against previously.

oOoOoOo

"...I have great pleasure in announcing that this year, at Hogwarts, will be held the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore said.

"You're joking!" Fred shouted loudly.

And then Dumbledore went on with the story of the Triwizard Tournament, and Hermione stopped listening as carefully as before to the headmaster. She knew everything that could be know about this tournament – including the fact that it had nearly been cancelled due to what the newspapers now called the Crouch scandal – and she would have rather preferred for it not to happen at all. Not with Voldemort roaming free.

She would have hoped that the Crouch scandal would have been enough to stop this madness, that was dangerous even without Voldemort, but no, of course not. And on top of not cancelling the tournament, the Ministry of Magic was struggling to find a successor to Bartemius Crouch Senior as head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, while Bartemius Crouch Senior was awaiting his trial. Moreover, and even though few cared, Hermione knew that Barty Crouch Junior's arrest would take away Winky's joie de vivre for several years.

Still, they could not have allowed Barty Crouch Jr. to remain under his father's Imperius. Now at least, Barty Crouch would not be able to run away and help Voldemort. Mad-eye Moody had ended his career as an auror and joined Hogwarts staff without any issue. Bartemius Crouch Senior would probably be sent to Azkaban, but he would not be murdered by his own son in a few months. Hermione sighed. In some twisted way she kind of understood Barty Crouch Jr's hatred towards his father, and she felt sorry for his mother who had tried to save her son, only for him to murder her husband.

Hermione heard Fred and George declare that they were going to participate in the tournament, the age limit be damned, and chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"Frankly, I'm almost tempted to suggest we participate," Ginny murmured. "We're certain to win!"

Harry glared at Ginny, but only managed to make her laugh slightly.

"And it's not as if the age limit was really difficult to circumvent!" Ginny continued. "What would it take you to break through, Hermione, twenty minutes?"

"Ten should be plenty enough," Hermione said smugly with a wink for Ginny.

"Braggart," Ron commented.

"And then, when we will have won, we'll be able to give the Triwizard Tournament prize to Fred and George for their shop ," Ginny pointed out.

"I'll invest in your brothers' shop, Ginny," Harry said sternly. "But I do promise that I won't ask your hand a second time if you put my name in the goblet of fire."

Ginny was the perfect picture of outraged astonishment.

"Fine. That's fine," Ginny finally said. "Anyway, I was going to propose Hermione as a champion, not you. At least we could have seen some beautiful magic instead of just seeing you rush into the tasks without any strategy."

Harry threw his teaspoon in Ginny's direction, and only years of Quidditch practice allowed Ginny to dodge in time.

oOoOoOo

On the fourth night since their return to Hogwarts, Hermione awoke with a start. It took her a few seconds to understand why, but as soon as it was done she rushed down to the common room, meeting Ginny on the way.

"He's at Azkaban", the redhead whispered.

"Indeed... You go and warn Ron? I can arrange the path for us."

Ginny nodded and rushed to the boys' dormitories as Hermione focused. If it was impossible to Apparate in Hogwarts, nor to use any portkey, it was possible, however, to influence the castle's magic just enough to convince it to shorten a bit the path between Gryffindor's common room and the one-eyed witch passage that would allow them to exit Hogwarts.

By the time Ginny came back, Harry and Ron right behind her, the path was ready.

"Harry..." Hermione started.

Harry immediately raised his hands with a sullen look.

"I know I can't go Hermione, don't look at me like that, Ginny has already been clear enough about that. But I still want to wait for your return here."

"Fine," Hermione answered.

Hermione, Ron and Ginny turned into their animagus form. A few seconds after, a cat, a bear and an eagle rushed through Hogwarts' corridors until they reached the edge of the anti-Apparition wards.

"Let's put up our glamours before we go," Ron said. "We cannot be sure he's alone."

They complied, and as soon as it was done Hermione extended her left arm to side-along Apparate them, and Ron and Ginny grabbed it.

They arrived under the cover of the trees delimiting the desert moor around Azkaban. And if they immediately spotted Voldemort's imposing figure, he also spotted them immediately, slowly turning towards them with a mocking smile on his far too perfect face.

"I see Potter has still not deigned to join you," Voldemort said loftily. "A pity."

The fact that he could talk about Harry as a member of their group while they were under their glamours was proof enough that there was no one else around. His vow would have otherwise blocked him. But it was not enough to reassure Hermione. Nothing was preventing Voldemort from attacking them. And even if they had started again to assiduously practice their duelling skills, she was still unsure about who would win between them.

There was a moment of tense silence, long enough to make Hermione understand why Voldemort had gone to Azkaban.

"Well, now that you know that, yes, we had set up some wards here, could we all go back to our own businesses?" Hermione asked sullenly. "It's already hard enough not to sleep during classes even without sleepless nights."

Especially as they had Snape first thing tomorrow morning, and that he was still eager to snap at anyone not paying attention, never mind the fact that Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's marks were far above average.

"The wards, they're an alternative to Melvure's charm, aren't they? Who cast them" Voldemort asked.

Ginny and Hermione exchanged a quick glance, and Hermione shrugged.

"Helen and myself," Ginny replied in a venomous tone.

Voldemort turned towards Hermione, looking straight into her eyes.

"How did you know for Barty?" Voldemort pried.

Hermione hold his stare firmly.

"It was quite stupid of him to go to the Quidditch World Cup, especially in the top box," she said.

Voldemort seemed exasperated by her non-response, and Hermione resisted the urge to smirk. He visibly toyed with the idea to attack them right know, scrutinizing their appearances and trying to find a flaw in their defensive postures that could allow him to best them quickly. But he seemed to finally decide against it, as he disappeared without another word.

"As charming as always," Ron grumbled.

"Damn him," Ginny sighed. "We need to cast our wards again now."

The charm they had used was all about discretion – and it had proven to be quite successful, as Voldemort had triggered it – but once it was triggered the charm was not active anymore.

"It will probably be in vain, but fine," Hermione agreed.

It would take them a few hours, and Hermione was almost certain that Voldemort would manage to avoid it the next time.

oOoOoOo

Voldemort came out of the fireplace regally and looked at the huge hall in front of him. It was a bit odd to be in the middle of the Ministry of Magic when it had been numerous years since the last time he had been there. And yet that was where his objective had always been. To rule over the Ministry of Magic. To rule over all wizards and witches to restore their former glory. Lord Voldemort, the greatest wizard of all time, had always been meant for this.

With a pace reflecting his ease, Lord Voldemort advanced towards the security desk, and stoically prepared himself to endure the stupid identity check procedure, a procedure that would not be able to detect in any way that he was not who he currently pretended to be, some American diplomat passing by London.

"What's your business?" the dull employee asked.

"I have an appointment with Lucius Malfoy," Voldemort replied in a neutral voice.

"Step over here."

Lord Voldemort complied and the wizard lifted his sensor towards him. With a discreet flick of his hand Voldemort erected an undetectable barrier between the golden rod and himself, preventing it from detecting anything compromising.

"Wand," the security wizard grunted, holding out his hand.

Voldemort handed him with false reluctance the banal wand he was using for the occasion, his own yew wand dissimulated in an inner pocket of his robes. The employee mechanically dropped the wand on the wand scanning scale.

"Ten inches, unicorn hair, been in use for fourteen years, is that right?"

"Absolutely."

The wizard gave him his wand back while grumbling uninterestingly, and Voldemort refrained from displaying his disdain. It was so easy to enter illegally the Ministry of Magic, that it should be matter enough to shame irreversibly the current government. Incompetence really was one of the things that Lord Voldemort loathed the most… perhaps even more than Potter and his Mudblood.

But today was not yet the day he would take over the Ministry. Today, he was only planning to use Lucius' reputation to visit the different departments of the Ministry, to be able to notice first-hand the changes that had happened in the past thirteen years. And for once he was certain not to be disturbed, Potter, the Mudblood and their two Weasleys being in Hogwarts.

His visit was satisfactory. The disorganization of the Ministry of Magic was flagrant, and all the politicians in a high enough position were just as eager to be bribed as Lord Voldemort had expected them to be. There were some exceptions of course. Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour in particular. Those two would be indisputably troublesome. Too honest, and smart enough to see through him if he tried anything too frontal. Fortunately, Crouch senior had been put where he cannot do any harm, and by the Mudblood herself. It was quite interesting in fact to see that they were ready to sacrifice someone that could have been a great ally against him, proving to Voldemort that their own objectives were indisputably more complex that what he would have thought.

All the other bureaucrats were a tasteless bunch of idiots. Fudge. Bagman. Mockridge. Cresswell. Robards. Hopkirk. Higgs. Umbridge. Voldemort had stilled a split second when Lucius had presented him this pink horror. He had felt like he had already heard the name somewhere, but could not remember where. It was surely irrelevant however, and Dolores Umbridge would not present any obstacle for him anyway.

"Would you like to see anything else?" Lucius asked deferentially.

"I am not adverse to a cup of tea in your office Lucius," Lord Voldemort said, his expression perfectly cordial.

He had a few points he wanted to discuss with in Death Eater, including a request for Lucius to ask his son to befriend one way or another Potter and his gang, so he could have a better knowledge of what the four of them were doing in Hogwarts.

oOoOoOo

Not only did Hermione indeed fall asleep during their potion class the morning after the Azkaban alarm first went off, but in addition to that Voldemort triggered their wards again the next evening. And the one after that. And the next one also. And he did not even bother anymore to wait for their arrival, he was purely passing by, destroying their spell, and leaving, probably to waste their time.

When the alarm went off on the seventh consecutive night, all four of them were really annoyed when they met as usual in Gryffindor's common room.

"I'm going to kill him," Ginny growled.

"If only!" Hermione said grumpily.

"You know what?" Ron said. "Let's go there this evening for the last time, just to set up a small welcoming committee for the next time he wishes to piss us off."

"Ron!" Hermione reprimanded him.

"It sounds like a good idea," Harry agreed, still waiting for them each time they went out. "You cannot spent all your nights casting wards around Azkaban, we have far more important things to take care of."

All nodded and Hermione, Ron and Ginny slipped out of the common room, the expression on their faces murderous.

oOoOoOo

It was only a day and a half later that they were able in the early morning to see the result of their misdeeds, as they made the headlines in the Daily Prophet: "_Strange phenomena reported around Azkaban_". An animated photo showed what appeared to be a mix between an aurora borealis, fireworks, and a volcanic eruption, with Azkaban's prison in the background.

"Not bad," Harry commented with an appreciative smile.

Hermione heard a little further the Weasley twins talking excitedly about the photo. Then again, the Weasley twins were the ones most of Hermione's, Ron's and Ginny's ideas had come from, or more accurately, the future products of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes were.

"Do you think we managed to hit him with one of the Wildfire Whiz-bangs?" Ron asked discreetly.

"Nah," Ginny said dejectedly. "He's faster than that. But I'm pretty sure that his expression when everything exploded around him was a nice sight."

Their discussion was interrupted by a jet-black eagle that swooped right in front of Hermione, stretching out his leg with an imperial attitude that made Hermione suspect she knew its owner.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to open this letter," Harry said worriedly, having also guessed the sender.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea _not_ to open this letter and wait for it to somehow destroy Hogwarts," Ginny replied.

Sighing, Hermione took the letter from the bird's claws, the eagle haughtily flying away as soon as it was done. Hermione cast several detection charms on the letter without finding anything, and that only managed to worry her even more.

"You'll take me to the infirmary if anything's happen, won't you?" Hermione asked her friends with resignation.

Then she opened the letter and stared in astonishment at the blank parchment. Until it exploded in her face, emitting a suffocating black smoke.

oOoOoOo

When Hermione finally left the infirmary two days later, she was in a dreadful mood. Not only had she spent two days hallucinating very unpleasant things before a counter-spell had finally been found, but she had also needed to put up with Dumbledore's questioning about the letter and its sender. She had lied again and again, the unbreakable vow they had taken with Voldemort not allowing her to reveal anything to Dumbledore.

And it was two days less to look for magical sources, or to help Ginny find a way to nullify the unbreakable vow, or to help Harry on the destruction of his Horcrux. Two days she had not been able to look through all the books about the founders' relics – because of course every author had at some point deemed relevant to talk about the relics –. But obviously, none of them had the decency to write anything useful. And she did not even mention Njörd, who was not quoted once in the whole Hogwarts library, including the restricted section.

Hermione had even questioned Helena Ravenclaw's ghost, deploying treasures of diplomacy, but Helena said she did not know anything about the founders' research on the magical sources, and she had looked surprised enough for Hermione not to question her honesty.

"Do you need more help from us Hermione?" Ron asked her.

Her three friends had come to get her out of the infirmary as soon as she had been allowed to leave, and it seemed that her mood was quite evident.

"No, no," Hermione answered. "You all already have your fair share of tasks at hand. I'm just furious I've lost two days because of him. His continuous existence is really a nightmare."

"Have you thought about asking some help from Dumbledore?" Harry said. "We can't tell him anything about our dubious friend, but you should be able to discuss the magical sources with him, shouldn't you?"

Hermione pursed her lips.

"Perhaps…" Hermione sighed. "At some point, I may go and ask him some help. But he has Hogwarts to lead, and on top of that the Order of the Phoenix. And I would rather have him concentrating on those as we ourselves cannot do much against Voldemort."

"Aren't we doing exactly what we had blamed Dumbledore himself to do, leaving him in the dark?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Harry acknowledged. "But Hermione's right. If we tell him the truth, Dumbledore will be more interested by how we had managed to get back into the past than by the magical sources, and we cannot have him focussed on anything else than Voldemort."

"All right," Ron agreed. "But at some point in time, we may need to let him know."

Hermione hoped they would be able to find a suitable solution before that. Between them, Voldemort, and Dumbledore, that would make three powerful factions with three distinct interests that would revolve around the magical source, and that would not bode well.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort looked at Muggle Street with unconcealed disdain. It was a mundane street of London's suburbs, for those middle class families who were all boringly similar. Even their houses were almost identical, the gardens copies of each other, as if none of the inhabitants had had any more imagination than they had had ambition.

The only remarkable thing about the Mudblood's house was the spells woven around it and its inhabitants. Some were quite basic, but others left him pensive. Especially two charms Lord Voldemort would have sworn could not been combined together. But here they were, evidently cast by this annoyingly talented Mudblood witch. And he reluctantly admitted that he would have liked to know how she had managed to do it.

Voldemort absent-mindedly twirled his wand between his fingers. In addition to all the previous spells, there were also several blood wards, and those were always tricky to bypass. And he was certain that in the middle of all these the girl would have had dissimulate various alarms to let her know if anyone was trying to break her wards.

It was intriguing to came across such high-level magic, coming from such a seemingly banal person. Intriguing and annoying, because if Lord Voldemort could of course manage to tear apart the wards, he would probably need two or three full days to be able to do so, and without any certainty of being able not to trigger any of the alarms.

And it was quite a trump card, something he should play carefully. And it was not yet the right time. For now, he had gotten more from the four wizards than he had lost, the Philosopher's Stone elixir on its own was already invaluable, and they had not foiled any of his plans to take over the wizarding world yet.

When they would, he would know what to do.

oOoOoOo

When Hermione came down in Gryffindor's common room the morning of Monday, September 19th, she was warmly greeted by Harry, Ron and Ginny, each one of them shouting a loud Happy Birthday directly into her ears.

"Did you really need to scream so loudly?" Hermione asked with a slight hint of exasperation.

But she could not stop a smile from blooming on her lips.

"Come on Hermione," Ron said. "15 years old that's quite an age to celebrate!"

Hermione looked at him dubiously. Although she was officially fifteen years old, she was actually celebrating her seventy-fourth birthday today, as Ron very well knew.

"And since you're celebrating your 15th birthday today, we have unanimously decided to organize a party tonight in the Room of Requirement!" Ginny announced.

"A party?" Hermione repeated. "Are you insane?"

It felt strangely out of place for her to celebrate her birthday with Voldemort well alive thanks to her own incompetency. And the magical source starting to deviate.

"Yes, a party," Ron confirmed. "A party to celebrate your old age. A party to relax. An evening so you could, for once, have some fun. You need to take one evening off Hermione."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and she was ready to refuse when Harry cut her off.

"And since we knew you were going to refuse, we have already organized everything and warned everyone," he said. "You wouldn't want to tell all your friends that you are going to cancel everything, would you?"

"All my friends?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Neville and Luna. Lavender, Parvati, Padma. Fred, George and Lee. Alicia and Angelina. Susan and Hannah," Ginny provided. "All this wonderful persons will be in front of the Room of Requirement at exactly 8pm tonight. Room that will of course provide us plenty of food and alcohol."

"None of them are of age!" Hermione cried out indignantly.

This time it was Ginny who rolled her eyes. Harry looked at her with mock disappointment, and Ron grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "get this stick out of your arse".

"And the Room of Requirement? Seriously?" Hermione berated them.

It was their refuge. Their piece of peace in Hogwarts to continue their researches.

"Using it tonight won't change anything, nobody will know we spend most of our nights there," Ron shrugged.

"Come on Hermione," Harry said. "Even the brightest witch of her age should have some fun from time to time!"

Hermione gave up. After all, she could admit that she was dying for some time without magical sources, dark wizards and other annoying problems.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	16. Chapter 15

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delay, I'm struggling to find some time (and the motivation) to write those days.

As always, thanks a lot for the reviews, they are always greatly appreciated.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 15 - September - November 1994 **

Hermione idly played with her fork, painfully trying to wake up. She had read until three am the previous night, desperately trying to find anything new about the magical sources. It was now the end of September and she was really starting to panic. Because if she did not manage to find anything new via the founders' relics or Njörd, they would be back to square one.

"Anything suspicious?" Harry asked.

Ron looked up from the Daily Prophet copy he was carefully reading.

"Everything seems fine," he answered quietly. "But if he was discreet enough not to reveal his resurrection the first time around, I doubt he will do it now. It is still too early for him to make a move I think, he'll need several months to fully grasp the current political landscape."

Ron may not be the best to research lengthy magical theories, but he was the best to follow-up on everything that was happening in England and abroad, tracking any hints of Voldemort's potential activities.

"What're you looking for?" Neville asked, as he was eating his breakfast next to them.

Ginny managed to answer some plausible lie and Neville quickly returned to his breakfast. Hermione eyed his still too shy behaviour critically.

"We should restart the D.A.", she said the following evening when the four of them entered the Room of Requirement.

Although Alastor Moody was a good Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher – though he had a tendency to go off topic from time to time to tell some horrific stories of his years as an Auror –, it was far from being enough. Defence Against the Dark Arts was quite a vast topic, and it did not even brushed duelling too much.

"But how could we convince people to join?" Harry asked. "Voldemort's return is not even a rumour this time, as his resurrection was more discreet than the last time."

"Can't we organize some kind of trap?" Ginny asked. "We should have a way to put him just under Fudge's nose, shouldn't we?"

A long silence followed Ginny's question. It was in fact nearly impossible for them to set up a trap for Voldemort. The Dark Lord was not stupid, and he was not even impulsive anymore. Even when Hermione had admitted that Hadrian was Harry in August, he had not reacted impulsively.

"Even Harry wouldn't work as bait," Hermione said pensively.

"Excuse me?" Ginny reacted with evident outrage. "Nobody's going to use Harry as bait!"

"My apologies Ginny, that's not what I meant," Hermione amended quickly. "I was just thinking out loud about what we can do."

"That's clearly not something we can do," Ginny said fiercely.

She managed to look scary even in her thirteen-years-old body.

"We _can_ do that," Harry countered. "But I doubt it will work."

"Do we really need an excuse to restart the DA?" Ron said. "Umbridge is not here thanks Merlin, and Dumbledore will probably be more than happy to grant us the permission to setup a study club. Neville and Luna will definitely come. We should also be able to easily convince Seamus, Dean, Lavender, Parvati and Padma. Fred and George too, and with them Lee. Then the others may join by word of mouth."

And it was true that they did not need to run the club undercover this time. It would be in fact more suspicious for them to do it undercover as Dumbledore will anyway know.

"And how would we explain our duelling skills?" Ginny asked. "We're far from being the beginner we should be."

"Harry's the Chosen One, nobody will question his skills," Ron said with a hint of disdain. "And we will teach kids anyway… I mean, it's not like we want Hermione to give them a detailed lecture about how much Maure's architectural laws impact the efficiency of spell casting against runic protection."

Hermione felt strangely touched that he still remembered, so many years after, the subject of one of the research papers she had published.

"We'll need to find a way to make it fun," Hermione said. "Without Voldemort's threat, no one will be willing to devote time to us otherwise..."

"You're overthinking," Ginny answered. "Everyone will find the idea of a duelling club funny enough."

"The issue with a duelling club is that we won't be able to run it without supervision," Hermione pointed out.

"Ah, but there's no need for it to officially be a duelling club," Harry replied with a mischievous smile. "No one will look twice at a study group, and what we do inside this study group would be our own responsibility."

The three others decided unanimously that Hermione would be the one to go talk to McGonagall and then to Dumbledore. She was still the most serious among them, and undoubtedly top of their year, Harry and Ron usually finishing their assignments as fast as possible even if that meant being far too concise to have an optimal.

But it was fine with Hermione, as she knew that indeed she would probably be the best to convince McGonagall and Dumbledore that it would be a perfectly innocent study group. And moreover, she would be able at the same time to ask Dumbledore if he knew anything about Njörd, as she was herself unable to find anything relevant.

oOoOoOo

"I spoke with Cornelius today, my Lord," Lucius said, "and he was quite upset with Dumbledore."

If Lord Voldemort had also contacted few other Death Eaters - Yaxley, Avery, and Nott - Lucius was the one he saw most regularly, and the only one who knew his new appearance. The blond Death Eater was a coward and ready to change sides if it can save his own skin, but he was a brilliant politician. And currently too much scared by Lord Voldemort's power not to be loyal. It was therefore Lucius who was in charge of coordinating the gathering of any useful information to prepare for Lord Voldemort's infiltration of the ministry.

"Why?" Lord Voldemort asked.

It was no mystery that the Minister of Magic was trying to detach himself more and more from Dumbledore, believing he would manage better alone. The vain fool. But it was not usual for the feeble Cornelius Fudge to be upset with Dumbledore.

"It seems that Dumbledore wants to convince him to strengthen the security and reinforce the aurors. Cornelius is convinced Dumbledore is starting to lose his mind and to believe in conspiracy theories."

So Dumbledore was suspecting his return, and was trying to convince Cornelius Fudge of it. It could be something else of course, but the timing was a bit suspicious for a mere coincidence.

And it was logical that Dumbledore knew about his return. Severus had the mark, and no matter which side Severus was really on, he would have shown his mark to Dumbledore to ensure Dumbledore's trust. He would need to summon Severus quickly. He would not trust Severus Snape anymore, no, it was far too risky. But he needed to have Severus believing the contrary, so that he could pass falsified information to the other side, to wrongly appease Dumbledore.

oOoOoOo

"It's a most excellent initiative Miss Granger."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked at her closely. It had not been very difficult to convince Minerva McGonagall that an inter-house study group would be a good thing. And now, a week after they had first discussed the subject, Hermione only had to convince Dumbledore for them to move forward.

"May I ask how you came up with this idea?" Dumbledore asked.

The headmaster's gaze met hers and Hermione knew he was going to read her superficial thoughts. Quickly Hermione let a plethora of seemingly random information out of her Occlumency wards. Her next arithmancy assignment she needed to finish. Her last defeat against Ron at chess. Her curiosity about the Triwizard Tournament. Harry telling her that Sirius believed Voldemort had come back.

Dumbledore's expression changed almost imperceptibly, a worried wrinkle appearing for a brief moment on his forehead, before he smoothed his expression back to a more jovial one. Hermione held back a bitter smile.

Hermione had mixed feelings about Dumbledore. He was a brilliant wizard, no doubts here. And she did not know how she would have herself reacted if she had faced the same situation as him. Perhaps she too would have considered that there was no other way to win, that it was necessary to ask a seventeen years old boy to sacrifice himself to save all the others. But Harry was her friend and she still found it terribly unfair that Dumbledore had lied to him until the very end.

However, Dumbledore was now their best ally to fight Voldemort, and it would be beneficial for them if the headmaster decided to share information with Harry, as this information will not be covered by the vow they had made with Voldemort.

"We were just wishing we could setup an inter-house study group Headmaster," Hermione said as if she did not knew Dumbledore had seen her superficial thoughts. "But the only place all houses can study is the library, and it's not ideal to practice spells. I have found no interdiction to use an unused classroom for our study group, but we wanted to make sure it was fine to do so."

Hermione then managed a perfectly innocent smile.

"Oh, it's perfectly fine to do so Miss Granger," Dumbledore replied. "I'll ask Minerva to find you an adapted room, and she'll come back to you."

He paused for a moment and looked straight into her eyes.

"Do not forget Defence Against the Dark Arts in your study group," he said. "It's a topic of utmost importance after all."

Hermione managed to restrain an undignified harrumph. It was pretty typical of Dumbledore not to train Harry, but to give Harry the opportunity to progress on his own; the same way as he had known about the first D.A. and lied to Umbridge. The headmaster had always had the utmost faith that Harry would do the right thing. Help his friends. Defend the innocents. Sacrifice himself. It was both completely irresponsible and strangely touching.

"Of course Headmaster," Hermione replied politely.

She slowly got up and walked away, stopping just before leaving.

"Oh, Headmaster, may I ask you something?" she asked.

"But of course, Miss Granger, go ahead."

"Have you ever heard of Njörd?"

Dumbledore seemed puzzled.

"Njörd?" he said. "No, I haven't. Where have you heard that?"

Hermione resisted the urge to close her eyes shut. If even Dumbledore did not know...

"I thought I heard Professor Binns talk about something sounding like that, but I must have heard badly, I suppose," she said with false shyness.

"I do apologise Miss Granger, but it seems that you have indeed misunderstood what professor Bins was saying."

"Yes, it seems so," Hermione lied. "Thank you anyway Headmaster."

oOoOoOo

Harry, Ron, and Ginny were waiting for Hermione in the hallway just outside the headmaster's office, and followed her as she stormed past them.

"So?" Harry asked as soon as he had caught up with her.

"He knows nothing about Njörd," Hermione sighed.

"Huh, What?" Harry said. "I'm not asking about Njord, I'm asking about the D.A.!"

"Dumbledore agreed," Hermione confirmed. "But I said it was for a study group, so please stop calling it the D.A.."

"What's wrong with the Demo Association?" Ron asked with a small smirk.

"It's lame," Ginny commented sternly.

"Oh, come on," Ron whined. "I'm trying to please Hermione by respecting the spatiotemporal coherence here!"

And there, something inside Hermione seemed to snap.

"To hell with the spatiotemporal coherence!" Hermione exclaimed.

It had been years since the spatiotemporal coherence should have irremediably been destroyed. They had changed too many things, played too much with time, and the world had not crumbled down to dust yet. Making Death and her hallows quite terrifying.

"Hermione? Is everything OK?" Ginny asked cautiously.

But no. Nothing was OK. Although they had gained access to Slytherin's books, and then to the books of the other founders, they were in the end no more advanced than few months ago. They knew nothing more about the magical source itself. Nor about its instability. Nor about how to counter it.

And on top of that, Dumbledore was his usual unhelpful grandfatherly figure who had no clue about what was really going on and cannot be trusted with the hallows; and the only person that may have been brilliant enough to help Hermione was a psychopathic murdered bent on world domination they had themselves managed to lost control over.

Hermione realized that she was crying when Ginny's arms closed around her.

"Hey, don't cry," Ron said with uneasiness. "Everything's gonna be fine."

"But it's not going to Ron, and you know that!" Hermione replied curtly. "We have found nothing helpful regarding the sources! Our little friend seems more alive and dangerous than he has never been and we have no idea how to get rid of him! All because I have been stupid enough to botch this ritual!"

She noticed from the corner of her eyes a few students slowing down to see what was happening, but she ignored them.

"It's not your fault, Hermione," Harry tried.

"I don't know what to do Harry!" Hermione cried out. "I'm just stuck, and I have no idea about how to change that! I'm useless!"

"Hey Granger, what's happening to you? You've got only an Exceed Expectations for your last assignment?"

Hermione lifted her head very slowly and met Draco Malfoy's gaze. The haughty blond boy was looking at her with a mocking smirk. Not a cruel one, however, as if he really just wanted to joke. As if it was the right time for jokes. Because of course he did not know that Voldemort was back. He did not know what the Dark Lord had done to him and to his family in another life. He did not know that his sheltered, perfect, aristocratic life was currently quite threatened.

"I'm not surprised," Pansy sniffed. "We're in fourth year now, and she's only a _Mudblood_."

She seemed quite outraged by her Mudbloodness, and in a flash Hermione remembered the Pansy asking the other students to grab Harry to deliver him to Voldemort. Before she could process what she was doing, Hermione had sent a yelling Pansy flying onto one of the walls. Someone let out a surprised shout, but Hermione was not able to identify if it was Harry, Ron, Ginny or Draco Malfoy. The latter rushed to help Pansy get up, casting a strangely worried look at the four friends.

"I'll tell Professor Snape and you'll be expelled you hag!" Pansy threatened.

"I'm so sorry," Hermione apologized . "I shouldn't have."

Pansy Parkinson was in no way responsible for Voldemort's resurrection and Hermione's lack of success in researching magical sources. And on top of that she was only a child, albeit an annoying and whining one.

"You clearly shouldn't have, M…," Pansy started.

"Pansy, you should apologize too," Draco cut in.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked at him with astonishment.

"What?" Pansy asked indignantly.

"Those kind of words should not be used publicly," Draco said.

Then he turned to face Hermione.

"Apologies Granger, it was just supposed to be a joke. And please pardon Pansy, she's slightly… stressed those days."

Pansy's betrayed expression clearly said otherwise, but Draco Malfoy dragged her away before she could protest.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" Ron mumbled once they were gone.

Harry looked suspiciously down the hallway where Draco and Pansy had disappeared.

"It was not his normal behaviour," Harry observed. "Draco Malfoy did not grow out of his childish bully attitude until he was a few years older."

"I know what you're going to say Harry, but there is no way _he_ would have reached out to a fourteen years old Draco Malfoy," Hermione said.

"I do side with Hermione on this one," Ron agreed. "It's unlikely he would have spent his precious time meeting Draco Malfoy, and on top of that he would hardly risk it. But he could very well have asked Lucius to order Draco something."

"It's possible," Hermione conceded. "But what would have he asked of Draco? Befriend us so he can spy on our secrets? That's preposterous."

The others shrugged their shoulders, and they resumed their walk towards the great hall. Hermione sighed, and managed to get Ginny to walk slightly behind the boys with her.

"I need some help," she said quietly.

"Obviously," Ginny answered with a smile. "Even if I do appreciate Vindictive Hermione, she's pretty badass."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I hurt a child Ginny."

"Not a nice one."

Hermione scowled.

"Whatever, how can I help you?" Ginny asked quickly.

"I need to get an access to the most renown private libraries, to check if the founders books they may have could contain something relevant."

Ginny frowned.

"And you don't want Harry to know that because?" she asked.

"No need to alarm him, we don't need everyone to manage that." Hermione answered.

"We need everyone to manage that. You do know private collections are mostly in the manors of prestigious pureblood families, and those are heavily protected," Ginny pointed out.

"Ah, but we do not need to enter the manors," Hermione said with a smile. "We just need to borrow the books. A twist on switching spells would probably work."

Ginny's eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief.

"Ah, yes, that should be something we could manage… Give me one day, and let's go steal some Death Eaters books."

"Not all purebloods are Death Eaters Ginny."

"Figures, you know as well as me that we are going to start with Death Eaters, so let me enjoy the moment."

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort carefully studied Severus Snape as he entered in the study Voldemort favoured at Slytherin Castle, one evening in the middle of October. The spy knelt with deference before him, his head down. Voldemort calmly closed the book he was studying – a book referencing various resurrection rituals, as he was still trying to find which ritual his four enemies had used –, and he stood up. He skirted his desk with deliberate slowness, and stopped a few steps from Severus Snape.

"Rise, Severus," he ordered in a cold voice.

The man got up, his face as impassive as in Voldemort's memories of him.

"How may I help you, my Lord?" Severus asked.

Severus Snape even lowered slightly his eyes as an obvious sign of his submission. In the shadow of his hood, Voldemort smirked cruelly. He was really looking forward to toy with Severus, and by extension Dumbledore. And the day he would be sure of Severus' betrayal, he would take great pleasure in finally killing him.

oOoOoOo

"Thanks for coming tonight guys," Harry said to anyone who would listen. "I hope you've enjoyed this session."

"That was nice, thank you Harry!" Lavender said.

"Thanks Harry, thanks to all four of you," Dean added.

The dozen of people they had gathered for this first meeting of the D.A. – or whatever it was now named – gradually left the classroom that Minerva McGonagall had provided them after thanking them. Once they were all out, Hermione tidied the room with a quick movement of her wand, and the four friends discreetly walked to the Room of Requirement.

"It was quite a success, wasn't it?" Ginny commented.

"Harry's a great teacher," Hermione agreed. "I'm pretty sure we'll have more people next time."

"That's great," Harry nodded. "We must prepare them the best we can."

He walked back and forth three times in front of the wall of the seventh floor corridor, and they entered the Room of Requirement.

"What are we doing tonight?" Ron asked.

"Duel," Harry replied.

Hermione winced as Ginny began to change the room to a duelling arena.

"Anything specific, o wise leader?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny…," Harry sighed. "But yes, I had a specific idea in mind. One against three duels. The one who is alone will apply an instant darkness charm to the room, as well as several Muffliatos so that the others fight in the dark and without a sound. Four rounds of ten minutes each."

Hermione nodded reluctantly – duelling was definitely not her forte compared to Harry –, and everyone pulled out their wands.

An hour later Hermione was positively overtired. If they were tolerant teachers for the D.A. students, they were quite harsh with their own faults, and stopped to train only when they were exhausted. With a weary gesture, Hermione Accio-ed a book about Gryffindor's sword, and was about to reluctantly bury herself in it when Ron's exclamation broke her concentration.

"Snape's going to Dumbledore's office," he said, holding the second version of the Maraudeur's Map in his hands.

It was close to midnight. A little late for a courtesy visit. Immediately, Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak and retrieved the map from Ron's hands.

"I should be able to see him when he walks down the hall to the headmaster's office," he said. "I'll try to spy on what's happening."

oOoOoOo

"It's confirmed Albus," Severus said as soon as he entered his office.

Albus identified with sadness the characteristic tremors following prolonged explosion to the Cruciatus curse.

"When has he called you Severus?" Albus asked.

"Just after the evening meal," Severus answered. "He knew you were suspecting his return, I am not sure how he has been made aware of that however."

Someone had not been discreet enough it seemed.

"Have you managed to convince him that you're still loyal Severus?"

"I'm alive."

Dumbledore nodded. This was indeed sufficient proof. Tom had no mercy for traitors, and his justice was usually more than expeditious.

"He said he wanted me to confirm you his return," Severus continued.

"Strange," Albus commented. "Is he hoping to scare me?"

"The Dark Lord was quite tight lipped about his intentions, as you may expect. He only asked questions. About you. About the Order. About Potter. He summoned me to a study I was not familiar with, so I cannot even tell where exactly he was."

"Would you care for a sherbet lemon Severus?" Albus Dumbledore suggested. "Or perhaps a tea? I would like a detailed account of everything that happened tonight."

Severus glared at him, but still took the cup of tea that Albus handed him. They both knew it would be a long night.

oOoOoOo

While most Gryffindors were quite agitated at dinner on Saturday, October 31st, Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny where all silently watching the Goblet of Fire. They were perhaps the only ones to be so calm, all other houses, and even Beauxbaton and Durmstrang being as excited as Gryffindor. At the professors' table, Ludo Bagman was as enthusiastic as usual – meaning far too much – while Percy was doing his best to hide his stress. While waiting for a better solution, the Ministry of Magic had appointed Amelia Bones as Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, on top of her role as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. And as Amelia Bones was of course not able to take care of everything, she had assigned to Percy everything linked to official representation at the Triwizard Tournament.

Madame Maxime and Karkaroff were perhaps the only ones who had an air of detachment. Although, on closer inspection, Karkaroff seemed in fact to be as nervous as the paranoid Moody Mad Eye.

"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore said.

Hermione felt Harry lean slightly forward next to her. There was no reason for the Goblet of Fire to choose Harry. Voldemort was already back. Moody was the real one this time around, and Barty Crouch was in Azkaban. But still… Harry had such a bad luck sometimes that Hermione cannot help but be worried.

Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour were called. Hermione watched the Bulgarian champion cross the great hall, and then the Veela, and her thoughts focused for a moment on Fleur Delacour. Fleur Weasley. Bill's wife. Bill that would become one of the most famous curse-breaker in the world. And who knew ancient magic better than curse-breakers? She was going to have to send an owl to Bill. Perhaps he would know something about Njörd.

"The Hogwarts champion…is Cedric Diggory!"

Hermione absent-mindedly twisted her hands, staring at the Goblet of Fire, waiting with an almost morbid impatience for the Goblet to light up again. It seemed for an instant that the sparks were once again becoming brighter and she felt her breath caught up in her throat. But it was a false alert, and the fire finally went out.

"Merlin thank you!" she heard Harry sigh.

For once, fate seemed to be on their side. The following party in Gryffindor's tower was quite nice, mostly all Gryffindors acknowledging that Cedric would be a good champion. And Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny enjoyed the party with the relief of not having to face another unpredictable situation.

oOoOoOo

Albus Dumbledore looked at the manor with wariness, thousands of thoughts swirling in his head. The Order not finding any information regarding Voldemort's actions. Cornelius who was enough of a coward to deny his warnings about the Voldemort's return. Harry's Muggle-born friend who had been bewitched by a curse Hogwarts' wards should have stopped. Harry who was aware of what was going on because of Sirius Black. Severus, who was once again treading in dangerous waters as a spy, without being able to bring back any valuable information for now. The Triwizard Tournament who was dangerous enough without having the threat of a war looming over Britain. A war Voldemort would probably start soon.

Tom had always boasted about being superior to all other wizards. About having conquered death. And Albus Dumbledore had always feared he had survived the night when he had targeted the Potters. But he had no idea how that could be possible, how Tom had managed to accomplish it. Dark magic without a doubt, but which kind? What ritual could protect from death?

Albus lifted his wand, the elder wand he was the owner of since he had defeated Gellert, and commanded magic to follow his wishes, sending a few strands of his magic to cautiously probe Riddle Manor. His magic tingled and Albus frowned. There were many traces of dark magic around the manor. But there was also a whole bunch of detection charms, preventing Albus from being able to investigate more closely without being detected. Albus sighed. Tom had always been too good at magic. Albus would need to look somewhere else to find more information about Voldemort.

oOoOoOo

Hermione was beyond frustration. Bill had answered quickly to her owl, but he had nothing on Njörd, not even ideas about who could have information on the topic. Another dead-end. But Hermione did not wanted to give up Njörd. She was certain there was something to find there.

"Fine, let's throw caution to the winds," Hermione decided, closing the book she was reading with a curt gesture.

It was the Saturday following the champions' selection, and Hermione was fed up with the whole magical sources situation. Harry looked at her questioningly.

"I'm going to send him a letter," Hermione said.

"Him?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort."

The silence only lasted a few seconds.

"Is that really a sane idea?" Ron warily asked.

"No, it definitely isn't, but I have no other choice here," Hermione sighed. "Dumbledore cannot help. Bill cannot help. And I cannot find any other books mentioning Njörd, even in private collections."

And Ginny and herself had tried to find anything they could, multiple times. Without success.

"Private collections?" Harry noticed.

"Not the topic of discussion here," Ginny cut in.

"But…" Harry tried.

"What about the founders' relics?" Ron asked, ignoring Harry's furious look.

"Nothing," Hermione answered. "Too many books, and none of them mention magical sources. Ever."

"But Voldemort? Really?" Ron grimaced.

Hermione shrugged.

"He's really brilliant you know," she said.

"You don't say," Harry grumbled.

"I mean, I've seen some of his spells the two times I stayed at Slytherin Castle, and they're really impressive," Hermione clarified.

"That's not a sane train of thought Hermione," Ginny warned.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on," she sighed. "I'm quite aware he's a dangerous psychopath, but it's in his library that I have found the first notions of Njörd, and after asking Dumbledore and Bill, and going through all the books of the founders, and about the founders, for months, he's kind of the only one that may still know something."

oOoOoOo

_Lord Voldemort,_

_Have you ever come across any mention of Njörd in your various readings?_

_I would appreciate if your answer was less inconvenient than your last message, as it made Dumbledore quite suspicious._

_Regards,_

_H_

Lord Voldemort looked at the curt letter before him with annoyance, hesitating to simply burn it. So now the Mudblood was foolish enough to write him a letter… Letter whose subject was troubling him. Njörd… it was very vaguely ringing a bell, and frustratingly it seemed to be an obscure enough subject for Voldemort not to be well versed into it. Something that was quite rare. And what was the connection with magical sources the Granger girl was previously researching? The more he interacted with his four enemies, the less they made sense.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	17. Chapter 16

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for your reviews!

And thanks to those who pointed out some mistakes / typos: I know my grammar is not perfect, and I am always glad to have the opportunity to correct it.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 16 - November 1994 **

_Granger,_

_Tell me why you are interested in Njörd and I may tell you something._

_LV_

Hermione looked with puzzlement at the letter until it vanished into thin air. She could not determine if he had no clues what's however about Njörd, or if he was simply not willing to help them. But it was in his books that she had found the only mentions of Njörd she had ever seen.

She quickly weighed her options and immediately wrote an answer.

"No curse?" Ron asked with surprise as he casted a Muffliato to ensure their conversation remained private.

"I may have hinted that he would be better off not making Dumbledore suspicious," Hermione said.

Ginny sniggered.

"Can he help?" she asked.

Hermione grimaced.

"I'm not sure," she trailed. "But there may be a slight chance that he knows something."

"I can't believe we're writing Voldemort letters," Harry sighed. "I mean, come on, why do we always end up in those kind of situations?"

"The Potters unique brand of bad luck," Ginny shrugged. "But look at the bright side: up until now, we've always managed to come out on top in the end!"

oOoOoOo

Hermione watched as the classroom filled up and a satisfied smile spread her lips. In slightly less than a month they had nearly managed to gather the old D.A. back. The Gryffindors were coming because they considered duelling as a good way to have fun. The Ravenclaws were coming because they were learning new things not taught in class. And the Hufflepuffs were coming because they were quite friendly with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

And with Harry's figure not being as controversial as it had been the first time around, the D.A. even included new people. Mandy Brocklehurst and Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw. But also, more notably, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini from Slytherin. In the end, there was almost all their promotion, as well as a few people from the years above and below.

Although they met only once a week, and could not demand the same seriousness from their students as in their first life, it was still a relief to be able to teach their classmates everything they could.

"Are we going to learn how to get rid of Wrackspurts today?" Luna asked eerily.

"No, it'll be for later," Harry answered without missing a beat. "Today we will work your Protego. At the end of the session I want you all to be able to block the spells that Hermione, Ginny, Ron and I will cast."

"Great," Neville mumbled. "We're gonna be ridiculous…"

"Don't complain Nev," Ginny said. "Your shield is one of the best ones here!"

Neville blushed and smiled shyly at Ginny. Harry immediately frowned, and Hermione elbowed him and looked at him sternly.

"Don't look at me like that," Harry muttered. "Aren't I allowed not to like other guys looking at my wife with stars in their eyes?"

Hermione giggled as Harry moved closer to Ginny.

oOoOoOo

_Voldemort,_

_I am interested in Njörd as I have found two mentions of the god in founders books, but nowhere else. Godric Gryffindor mentions him in "Journey around Norse lands", and Salazar Slytherin in "Chronicles of year 978"._

_H_

With a wave of his hand, Lord Voldemort Accio-ed _"Journey around Norse lands"_ and _"Chronicles of year 978",_ and flipped through the pages. A few seconds later, he had both mentions of Njörd in front of him and he pursued his lips with displeasure. He had read those two books, the Gryffindor's one with perhaps less attention than Slytherin's one, but still. And yet, he had not paid much attention to those two mentions. And rightly so, as the two sentences they appeared in were quite unremarkable…

Gryffindor was simply narrating his trip to Scandinavia, and mentioned a shrine to Njörd, without even saying where it was exactly. It was described the same way he described three sentences later a salmon bought in some random market. Merlin, how Lord Voldemort hated Gryffindor's books. All this pompousness and uninteresting details were exactly what he had always loathed in all representatives of this Hogwarts house.

His own ancestor's quote was more cryptic.

_"Wizards have usually no interest in most Scandinavian gods, such as Njörd for example."_

And that was indeed true. But still quite strange. Njörd was a Muggle god with no connection to witchcraft: why bother to mention him? Especially to emphasize that he was of no interest, which should have been obvious from the beginning.

Skimming through the pages Lord Voldemort quickly realized that Njörd was in both cases mentioned a few paragraphs after magical sources. He immediately felt a strong irritation towards Hermione Granger. Why did she always need to remind him of her existence, and always with some topics he had himself never deemed to be of interest? For a moment, he was tempted to tell her to go to hell, together with Njörd and the magical sources, but in the end he reluctantly moved towards his library.

He was not one to disregard a topic without having first checked that it was indeed of no interest to him. And then, he needed to figure out what were the four idiots looking for, to have a better understanding about how he could manage to kill Harry Potter.

oOoOoOo

In the past days Hermione had noticed that Harry's mood was getting darker, and that Ginny seemed less happy than usual. She had wanted to ask them what was going on of course, but she had decided not to push. She knew that if it was important, they would end up talking about it anyway. And if it was not important, well, it was not her business.

So when Harry and Ginny asked their attention one night as they were researching in the Room of Requirement, she knew it would be a bad news.

"What's going on?" Ron asked worriedly.

"We've found out how to remove my Horcrux," Harry answered with a defeated voice.

"What's the issue then?" Hermione dug.

Ginny slumped into one of the sofas, uttering a very undignified grunt.

"There are plenty of rituals," Ginny said. "Some are even easily doable. But they all have one thing in common..."

"Voldemort has to consent," Harry finished for her.

"Consent how?" Hermione asked.

Magical consent could take various forms. There was absolute consent, which worked only if the person was not subjected to any mind altering spells or potions, or even to blackmail. But there were also rituals that worked perfectly fine with relative consent, whether it was under the influence of blackmail, or even powerful spells such as the Imperium.

"Absolute consent," Ginny growled.

Hermione grunted as un-dignifiedly as Ginny had before, while Ron simply swore.

"Is there really no other way?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry said. "To transfer the Horcrux without destroying its container, you need the main soul to consent, both to return the Horcrux to the main soul or to transfer it somewhere else. I'll spare you the details but the main problem is that Horcruxes are following Sutta's laws and…"

"There's no way around them," Hermione completed mechanically.

Of course Horcruxes would follow Sutta's laws. Horcruxes could actually be considered an astral projection of Voldemort. And on top of that, the Horcrux' theory stemmed partly from the work on astral projections done in India several millenniums ago… How could she have not seen it before?

"But we are not really looking to transfer the Horcrux as much as to destroy it, are we?" Ron pointed out.

"You can't destroy it without destroying the container, we checked, and you still need Basilisk venom, Fiendfyre, or the Sword of Gryffindor to achieve that," Harry said. "And…"

"Gryffindor's Sword won't work," Hermione refuted. "It only worked because it had been soaked in Basilisk venom."

Harry smiled awkwardly and Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What have you done Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Not him, me," Ginny cut in. "You do remember I have stolen already once the Sword from the headmaster's office when Snape was headmaster? The false one? So it was not really difficult to borrow the real one just the time to go soak it in Basilisk venom. Especially with Harry's help and the invisibility cloak."

Hermione looked at them with the most stern look she could manage. It was completely unconscious, as usual, and at this point Unconscious should probably replace Harry's and Ginny' surname instead of Potter.

"What about Voldemort's Avada Kedavra?" Ron asked.

"I was coming to that before Hermione interrupted me," Harry stated. "Voldemort's Avada Kedavra is the only loophole here, as it kinds of bypass the consent issue, and the Avada keeps your body in perfect condition. Any other way Voldemort may use to kill me, or any other person trying to cast an Avada won't work."

There was a moment of silence before Ron spoke again.

"But during Hermione's ritual, neither the Diadem nor the Cup or the Locket have been destroyed," he pointed out. "And there was no consent at all from Voldemort. Can't we use a similar ritual to get the Horcrux out of Harry? I mean, in the end it's not even a big issue if it returns to Voldemort instead of being destroyed."

"I had a quick talk with Hermione about it," Ginny indicated. "We still do not know _why_ these objects survived – and they are far from being in pristine condition –. Logically, they should have been destroyed. And the Diary, and part of the Ring have actually been destroyed, so we cannot really take the risk."

As all of them, Ron seemed to be desperately trying to find a solution.

"There is really no way to circumvent these stupid laws of Sutta?" He asked Hermione.

"None that I know," she replied.

"We could always accept to destroy the container," Harry said resolutely.

He had not even finished his sentence that a Bat-Bogey hex was hurled towards him by a furious Ginny. Harry only narrowly avoided it.

"Don't even think about it!" Ginny ordered fiercely.

Her somewhat exasperated look was a clear proof of it not being the first time they had discussed it.

"But there is chance I will survive being stabbed by Gryffindor's sword or a Basilisk's fang as I am the Master of Death," Harry said stubbornly.

"You're not even sure you're still the Master of Death!" Ginny countered.

"I'm still the Master of Death!" Harry argued, raising his voice. "The cloak always obeys me perfectly, and every time I find myself within a few meters of Dumbledore I have to refrain my magic from reaching out to the Elder wand!"

"It's completely stu..."

"Silence!" Ron shouted.

Harry and Ginny both glared at him indignantly and were about to start shouting anew when Ron spoke again.

"Shut up, both of you," he said. "Hermione, your analysis?"

They all swiftly turned to her and Hermione had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.

"Even if you are the Master of Death, nothing proves that it will help you survive Basilisk's venom. None of us knows exactly what this Master of Death title entails."

"What about Phoenix tears?" Harry asked. "Can't they save me?"

"You must be already one step in the other realm for the Horcrux to die, and tears will not allow you to come back from death!" Hermione answered with exasperation.

Harry was now glaring at all of them.

"And what do we do to solve the problem then? I have to die if we want to get rid of Voldemort!"

"We keep looking," Ginny replied more calmly. "Perhaps there is a way to circumvent Sutta's laws…"

"Why not try to contact Death?" Harry asked. "There must be a way to do so, and it could help us understand if I may survive."

"Maybe," Ron agreed. "And you've just volunteered to take care of that topic."

"All right," Harry accepted curtly.

Then, he stormed out of the room, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"It's a full time work to keep him alive," Ginny muttered before following him.

oOoOoOo

_Granger_

_There is one more mention in _"_Rites and Rituals from_ _Mephistopheles_"_. _

_LV_

Hermione's scowled. It was not really helping to know that another mention of Njörd appeared in "_Rites and Rituals from_ _Mephistopheles_", as there was no way to get a copy of this book – and she had already tried several times –. The only copies she had managed to found were frauds, and she was sure Njörd had not been mentioned in them. How had Voldemort managed to get the book? She could not deny that she was slightly impressed.

With a flick of her wand, Hermione burnt the letter before it vanished.

"Bad news?" Ron asked.

He had even stopped eating to watch her carefully.

"Not especially, he's just purposely withholding information," Hermione said.

"It's quite expected that he won't help us for free," Ron shrugged. "But you can still offer him something in exchange for the information you're looking for."

"I'm fine with that, but what could I propose him?" Hermione asked.

"A book?" Ginny suggested. "He's as knowledge obsessed as you are, and you should find something in your library that we could give him without any unpleasant consequences."

Hermione nodded with approbation. It was true that Norfolk's library - her library if she was honest, it was not like she could trust those idiots in the Ministry to take good care of the books that were inside –, contained quite an interesting amount of rare books, some of them even considered as lost. And if she was reluctant to part with any of those, she could not deny that it would be a good bargaining chip.

oOoOoOo

_Voldemort,_

_The complete quote mentioning Njörd, and the paragraphs before and after in exchange of the original copy of "Zheng's Charms" by Ji You._

_HG_

The message was as short and curt as always but Lord Voldemort reread it three times to make sure he was not mistaken. There was only one edition of this book, and it had not been seen in centuries. There was not even the slightest hint about where it could be. How could the girl have found it? And once again he felt an intense frustration at the Mudblood for knowing things he did not know himself. He was starting to be pretty sure that, if he did not get rid of them quickly, she would be a big problem.

oOoOoOo

It was nice to follow the Triwizard Tournament without fearing for Harry's life. And on top of that Hogwarts was not divided by two champions, so everyone was happily cheering on Cedric. Publicly at least, as Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny loved Fleur and Viktor just as much.

"Over here, I've found good seats!" Ginny shouted.

It was November 24th, the day of the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, and they quickly joined Ginny who had secured four seats in the front part of the tribune.

"Is Cedric aware of what he will face?" Hermione asked Harry quietly. "You were the one who told him last time, weren't you?"

It would not be fair for Cedric to be the only one not aware of the dragons. Harry winked reassuringly.

"I told him. I just pretended I was following Hagrid and Madame Maxime for a completely fabricated reason, and by chance got a glimpse of the dragons."

A sudden sharp pain erupted in Hermione's ribs, and she briskly turned towards Ron, a reproach already on the tip of her tongue. But she stopped short when she noticed Ron's more than serious look, and his finger pointing discreetly to the official stand.

"Lucius Malfoy's here. And he's not alone," Ron said. "See?"

Hermione followed his gaze, and easily spotted the blond aristocrat. And there was indeed an unknown man with him, with a more or less ordinary face.

"Do you think it's _him_?" Ginny asked.

"I'm willing to bet half of my money it is," Harry said with fatalism.

"If it is indeed him, we'll need to leave quickly at the end of the first task," Hermione pointed out. "We better not have him close to you Harry."

Hermione quickly retrieved the Omnioculars she had kept since the Quidditch World Cup, and turned them towards the officials' tribune. The stranger politely greeted Amelia Bones, Percy Weasley, Ludo Bagman and Madame Maxime. Then Dumbledore, who did not seem to suspect anything. But when he came to Karkaroff, he leaned slightly towards him, probably to say something, and Hermione saw the headmaster of Durmstrang pale drastically.

She rested her Omnioculars on her lap, and nodded worriedly to Harry, Ron and Ginny.

"I'm pretty sure it's him," Hermione said. "Karkaroff's on the verge of fainting."

"What do we do about Karkaroff?" Ginny asked. "Shouldn't we try to protect him, or something?"

"We'll probably endanger him even more if we intervene," Ron replied. "As long as he is in Hogwarts, Dumbledore will be able to protect him. Voldemort may be here, but he cannot take over the castle all by himself right now."

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort had to hold back a satisfied smirk at Hermione Granger's displeased expression when he intercepted Potter, his Mudblood and the two Weasleys just as the first task ended. She was in her original form, as a banal fourth-year Hogwarts student, and it was very strange to see her in a body that was far too young and too common compared to what he had seen of her magical knowledge.

"Lucius, isn't this young man Harry Potter?" he asked with feigned ignorance.

He was pretty sure the four children in front of him knew who he was, but there were just enough people watching them so they could not just ignore him.

"Indeed," Lucius confirmed. "And if I am not mistaken those are his friend Ronald and Ginevra Weasley, as well as Hermione Granger."

Lucius's voice was slightly more disdainful when he said the Mudblood's name. He would probably be furious if he knew that this tiny Mudblood could give him a run for his money in a duel. Or perhaps even whip the ground with him. Even Lord Voldemort must admit that the Mudblood was a worthy opponent. That could be an entertaining experience if Lucius angered him too much one day.

"What a pleasing coincidence," Lord Voldemort said. "I am William Miller. It's an honour to meet you, Mr. Potter."

He held out his hand to Potter, who did not move for a few seconds before shaking his hand reluctantly, his green eyes reflecting the ferocious hatred he felt towards him. There was definitely a strange aura around him, and Lord Voldemort felt like he was missing something about the boy. Something that should have been obvious.

"What did you think of the first task Mr. Miller?" Ronald Weasley asked with mock politeness.

Lord Voldemort turned away from Potter and met the resolute gaze of the young Weasley.

"It was interesting," he replied succinctly.

He was far more interested in Potter, and in this strange sensation he felt around him. But already the Weasley girl was dragging Potter away and Hermione Granger moved between him and Potter, blocking his way.

"Please excuse Harry, he's not comfortable with his fame," she said, and her smile was somewhere between false innocence and badly restrained smugness.

Lucius seemed outraged that she dared to speak to them but Hermione Granger stood her ground with her unbearable smile and far more self-confidence than she should have had.

"That's quite understandable," Voldemort replied silkily. "It is never good to attract too much unwanted attention."

He saw Hermione pursue her lips, as if she was restraining herself from retorting, but Ronald Weasley timely dragged her away after wishing them a pleasant day in a tone that was bordering insolence.

"Find everything you can about Potter Lucius," Lord Voldemort ordered in a low voice. "There is definitely something strange with him. Contact Avery, Nott or Yaxley if you need help."

Then he noticed Dumbledore making his way towards them and Lord Voldemort disappeared into the crowd, not wanting to confront the old coot right now.

oOoOoOo

Albus Dumbledore paced in his office. The first task of the Triwizard Tournament had just ended without any incident, fortunately. The three champions had bravely fought the dragons, and they had sustained no important injuries. But Dumbledore could not help but be worried. He was certain that this William Miller was none other than Voldemort. And the fact that he dared to come to Hogwarts was alarming.

He had come to taunt him no doubt. And he had reasons to. The Order was not finding anything about his actions, despite the fact that they were watching is Death Eaters from afar. But the Order members could not be everywhere at once, and they were already busy keeping an eye on the prophecy... And all that Severus had been able to tell him until now was that Voldemort had not shared his plans with him, just asking Severus to watch him and Harry Potter.

The only valuable information Albus had gathered from Severus was the new place Voldemort was using as his base. In Severus's memories Albus could only see the richly decorated study, but that was enough to notice the coat of arms that was on most of the furniture. The coat of arms of Salazar Slytherin. Albus knew where the old Slytherin castle was, but he was lucid enough to know that it was illusory to try to get in, quietly or not, without a Parselmouth.

He was going to have to talk to Harry soon, and Albus felt a twinge in his heart. He did not want to tell the young boy that he was a target, and that he should fight Voldemort in the end, but what could he do? Voldemort was going to try to kill him anyway, and Harry might be a prodigious wizard for his age, he only had fourteen years of experience against Voldemort's seventy.

If only Albus had a little more information about what Voldemort had done to stay alive... Albus sighed and his eyes turned towards the east. He knew someone who had plunged far deeper than himself into black magic. Someone who might know what Voldemort may have done. But asking Gellert for help was a step Albus did not want to take...

oOoOoOo

_Granger,_

_The book first._

_LV_

Hermione sighed exasperatedly. It was true that she was not trusting him either. But she had very good reasons not to trust him, whereas he was just being paranoid.

Like all the others, the letter vanished before her eyes, and Hermione decided to wait a day or two before answering him, not yet knowing if it was a good idea to send him the book. Maybe she could just send him the first chapter as a proof...

"Got him!" Ron exclaimed triumphantly.

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny turned towards him and looked at him questioningly, while Ron casted a discretion charm.

"He just made his first move I think," Ron explained. "Someone just claimed the Gray family's dormant seat at the Wizengamot."

"The Gray family?" Harry repeated.

Then he laughed, as Hermione, Ron and Ginny smiled. The Grays were perfect for creating a fake political persona. The whole family had died years ago, killed by Voldemort or perhaps some of his lackeys, with the exception of two still young boys who had completely disappeared since then. But Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny knew that the two boys were still alive, and were currently residing in France. Their return to England in the 2000s had caused quite a stir during their first life.

"I hope he has lost a lot of time preparing all this!" Ginny said. "Who has he chosen? Edward or William?"

"Edward," Ron answered. "He's the oldest after all."

"Do you think anything happened to the real Edward and William?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Voldemort probably think them dead, as everyone else," Hermione answered. "And their hideout was pretty well protected if I remember well."

They all got up, Ron grabbing a few toasts to finish his breakfast, and headed for an abandoned classroom. There, sitting on some wobbly tables, sharing Ron's toasts, they establish their action plan.

There was a Wizengamot session the following Saturday, and it was decided that Hermione would confront Voldemort within the security of the ministry, taking the opportunity to exchange the quote against the book, while Harry, Ron, and Ginny would be in charge of verifying that nothing had happened to the real Edward and William.

oOoOoOo

Hermione was casually sitting on Edward Gray's desk, in his new office, which had been assigned to him as a member of the Wizengamot. Because of course every member of the Wizengamot should have an office at the Ministry, even if they never even bothered to go there more than a few minutes here and there. However, Ron was certain that Voldemort would show up in his office before the Wizengamot session, if only to be seen in the corridors of the ministry.

Harry, Ron and Ginny had confirmed few minutes before that Edward and William were both healthy and still hidden in their grand aunt's mansion in France.

Hermione was watching the door carefully, and when it finally opened to let the owner of the office in, she immediately noticed his surprised look. He had only slightly bothered to change his appearance to conform with the usual brown hair of the Gray family and their square jaw, and for someone in the know he was easily recognizable as his usual far too handsome self.

"May I enquire what you are doing in my office, Madam?" he asked.

Hermione noticed that he had discreetly pulled out his wand and she tightened her grip on hers. She should normally be safe, the slightest too powerful spell automatically triggering alarms in the Ministry of Magic, but it was better to be cautious.

"It was a mistake to choose Edward Gray, Voldemort," she said. "You do not look like him at all."

"Hermione Granger," Voldemort understood with evident bitterness.

Hermione raised a surprised eyebrow.

"You didn't recognize me? Am I so different with twenty more years and darker hair?"

She had not used her usual Helene disguise, but she was undeniably still close to Hermione Granger's looks. Or at least to what she looked like when she was thirty-five.

"Probably because you have tied your awful hair," Voldemort said disdainfully. "And how have you managed to come here? No, don't answer, the security of this ministry is abysmal…"

Hermione could not help the small conniving smile that appeared on her lips. It was true that the security of the Ministry of Magic left much to be desired.

"I advise you to leave my office immediately, before I would find myself unfortunately forced to make you disappear from the surface of the earth forever," Voldemort threatened.

"If you do not abandon your persona, we'll reveal the real Edward and William," Hermione retorted without moving.

"If you reveal the real Edward and William, they will quite quickly suffer a regrettable accident."

"But it will ruin your cover anyway, and the reputation of those who helped you set it up," Hermione replied. "And we will protect Edward and William Gray."

They glared at each other for a few seconds, and it seemed to Hermione that the brown eyes of the so-called Edward Gray were becoming more and more reddish. The tension was palpable, especially as they were only few meters from each other. But Hermione knew that for once she had the advantage.

"Nobody knows where Edward and William Gray are," Voldemort tried.

"We know," Hermione answered with a victorious smirk.

Voldemort seemed on the verge of casting a curse, before sighing dejectedly.

"Very well. Message received. Now, get out."

"Are not you interested in the book then?"

Hermione held out of her bag the original edition of _"Zheng's Charms"_. Voldemort attention was immediately on it.

"Where did you find it?" he asked dryly.

Hermione carelessly shrugged her shoulders, but did not extend the book towards him.

"The quote on Njörd," she demanded.

"Why are you looking for information on magical sources?"

There was a dangerous glint in his eyes but Hermione stood her ground.

"The quote on Njörd ," she demanded again.

There were a few seconds of tense silence before Voldemort casually flipped a piece of parchment at her. Hermione read it out of the corner of her eye.

_"Few are the rituals that use more than three circles of runes, and among them Njörd is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous a wizard can attempt to carry out." _

But then the next paragraph went on to something else, without giving any additional information about this ritual. Voldemort extended his hand demandingly, and with resignation Hermione levitated the book to him.

Then she turned away and walked steadily towards the door. She was only a yard away when Voldemort suddenly grabbed her right arm. She turned quickly, and looked indignantly at his hand holding her arm.

"Let go of me right now," she ordered coolly.

It almost felt like her skin was burning where it was in contact with Voldemort's hand, and her whole body had tensed with warranted apprehension.

"You haven't answered my question," Voldemort pointed out with a calmness more menacing than his previous threats.

"Aren't you afraid of begin tainted by my impure _mud _blood?" Hermione retorted with acidity.

Voldemort did not even react to her comment.

"Why are you looking for information on magical sources?" he asked again.

She tried to free her arm but he immediately tightened his grip and she had to hold back a hiss of pain.

"It is none of your business."

In a split second he had pulled out his wand, and it was now pointing at her throat.

"You are not protected by a contract right now, so answer me."

Fluidly, Hermione reached to her spare wand with her left hand and pointed it at Voldemort's throat.

"You neither," she simply stated.

Her voice was firm, thanks Merlin. Because below the surface, Hermione was far from being confident. True, there was the Ministry alarms, but Voldemort could very well decide to simply kill her and flee the Ministry afterwards, never mind the bad outlook it would cast on Lucius Malfoy who was probably the one who had secured this Edward Gray persona. And with the current terrible security, Voldemort would certainly succeed.

Nonetheless, Hermione kept her eyes locked into his. Voldemort's closeness was overbearing, but Hermione would not let herself be intimidated.

Then there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Mr. Gray?"

Hermione instantly recognized Lucius Malfoy's voice, but neither she nor Voldemort moved in the slightest.

"The Minister would have liked a word with you, he's with me," Malfoy said.

There was a note of deference in Malfoy's voice, though well hidden, that confirmed Hermione that he knew very well who Edward Gray really was. A flicker of exasperation passed in the eyes of Voldemort and he lowered his wand, before pushing Hermione towards the chimney, finally releasing her arm.

"I'll open the path to Diagon Alley for you," he said icily.

"Abandon your political persona Lord Voldemort, or we will make sure you'll do."

She went into the chimney without turning her back to Voldemort, keeping her eyes on him.

"Diagon Alley," she enunciated clearly.

They had at least won this round.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort watched with great displeasure Hermione Granger disappear into the flames. This situation had lasted too long. It was fine when they were only busy doing some strange research on their side, but he could not have them hindering his political manoeuvers. It was time to hit them where it hurts. This evening he would go after the Mudblood parents.

Concealing his fury, Lord Voldemort opened the door to Lucius and Cornelius Fudge. He could not risk discrediting Lucius by disappearing for no reason from the Ministry. He was going to have to invent an excuse for Edward Gray to leave England quickly, and the mere idea of how much time it would make him lose gave him the desire to torture Hermione Granger until insanity.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	18. Chapter 17

Hi everyone!

Sorry sorry, I'm a few days late… work was hectic last week !

I hope you'll like this chapter.

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 17 - November - December 1994 **

"Chocolate Frog," Harry said.

The stairwell Gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office moved aside, and Harry stepped on the ascending spiral staircase with slight apprehension.

He was not afraid of Dumbledore, far from it. But he had hardly been close to the headmaster in this life. Dumbledore had not known that he was involved in the theft of the Philosopher's Stone. He had not spoken in Parseltongue at Lockhart's mockery of a duelling club. The Chamber of Secrets had not been open. And Sirius had not needed to escape from Azkaban. There was always the prophecy of course, but that was all. Dumbledore did not even know about Horcruxes. He had not seen Tom Riddle's Diary, had had no occasion to notice the similarities between Harry and Voldemort.

Harry quickly checked that is expression was neutral, and entered the office wondering what Dumbledore might want.

"Good evening, sir. You've asked for me?"

"Ah, good evening, Harry," Dumbledore greeted. "Sit down. Would you care for a sherbet lemon?"

"No thanks, sir."

Dumbledore's expression became more serious and Harry wondered for a moment what could have caused the headmaster to talk to him now. It had been a month since Snape had confirmed Voldemort's resurrection. Or perhaps Dumbledore had understood who exactly was with Lucius Malfoy a few days ago during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, and was now even more worried?

"I know your godfather has already informed you of Voldemort's potential return, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"Sirius told me it was confirmed now," Harry corrected.

Bless his godfather's concern for him.

"I'm afraid that's indeed true," Dumbledore said. "I'm afraid you're in danger, my boy."

Dumbledore moved on the risk that Voldemort would attack him – without mentioning the prophecy however –. Then, to Harry's astonishment, Dumbledore spoke of the need for Harry to improve his duelling skills with him and Snape at least once a week. Harry had to hold back a grimace.

First, he had not wish to spend his free time with Snape. Yes, Snape had given his life to protect him a long time ago, but he still remained a heartless bastard with everyone, and especially with Harry. And besides, Harry would have to feign lower duelling skills than his real ones, at least initially. It would have been more efficient to just continue training with Ron, Hermione and Ginny… But he unfortunately had no way to refuse the headmaster without revealing too much.

oOoOoOo

When Voldemort's jet back owl stopped in front of Hermione during Saturday's breakfast she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. He had given her the quote several days ago, and she had given him the book. They had no reason to still talk to each other.

Hermione retrieved the letter and opened it quickly.

_Granger_

_If you care about your parents, I advise you to come quickly to Slytherin Castle, without any of your dear friends._

_After all, there are still several questions I'd like to have answers to ._

_LV_

Hermione's breath got caught in her throat. How had he managed to get her parents without triggering her alarms? It should have been impossible! Her alarms should have been too advanced for whoever to take down her wards without triggering them!

"Hermione?" she heard Ron ask carefully.

"He has my parents," she answered blankly.

"What?" Harry cried out.

Their nearest neighbours, a bunch of Gryffindor first years, gazed wide-eyed at him, but Ginny glared at them and they immersed themselves in their breakfast.

"I'm going ," Hermione announced.

She could not afford to lose a single second. Not while other lives were in danger.

"It's too dangerous," Harry said.

But he recoiled slightly when Hermione glared at him. Smart move from his side, as she was not in the mood to remind him that he would have done exactly the same thing if he was in her shoes.

"Stall for time, we'll try to get to you as fast as we can," Ron said.

Hermione nodded and stood up resolutely. If Voldemort had done anything to her parents she would find a way to make him pay dearly. She hurried out of the great hall and headed for the one-eyed witch passage.

"What are you doing here?" asked a suspicious voice right behind her.

Hermione turned around and swore as she noticed Filch and Mrs Norris looking at her with gleeful eagerness. It was really not the right moment...

"No magic in the corridors!" Filch said as Hermione lifted her wand.

"Obliviate!" Hermione cast.

Her spell surrounded the caretaker and his cat, and Hermione resumed her walk without looking back. As soon as she stepped out of Hogwarts' wards, she Apparated directly to Slytherin Castle. She landed in the main hall, which had obviously been magnificently restored since the last time she had been there. But she spent not time dwelling on it.

"Point Me Richard and Catherine Granger," she cast.

Her wand spun in her palm, and pointed to the direction of the castle's main study. Hermione strode towards it, not paying any attention to the house-elf that had just materialized in the hall, probably to escort her to Voldemort.

When Hermione arrived in front of the study and its closed doors, she violently injected her raw magic in the doors, and they opened under the sheer pressure. She did not even pay attention to Voldemort and first looked for her parents. They were in one of the corners, and for a brief moment she thought they were dead, before she noticed their chest moving oh so slightly. There was no sight of blood, and they seemed to be simply asleep.

Then her gaze finally settled on Voldemort, the bastard elegantly leaning on the wall just beside her parents, his wand casually directed towards her mother.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked icily.

Now that she had been able to verify that her parents were alive, she was furious. She had not won a war in her first life to have her parents harmed now. She had not come back to save the whole world from an uncontrollable magical source to have Lord fucking Voldemort on her way.

"I was just looking for a little chat Hermione, we have so many things to discuss, don't you think?"

He had pronounced her name with such loathing that it would have been less insulting to call her Mudblood.

"Let them go. Now," Hermione ordered.

Voldemort seemed mildly amused. And he had reasons to be. She had no power here. He had her at a disadvantage, and despite all her anger Hermione could not really do anything.

"Your wands," Voldemort demanded with a cruel smirk.

There was a fraction of second during which Hermione hesitated to fight, to resist. To make him eat dust. To land her fist on his nose - after all it was only thanks to her that he had one this time, so she had all the rights to reduce his perfect face to smithereens –. But she had too much to lose and no ways to win.

Hermione slowly pulled her two wands out of her pockets, resting them in the palm of her hand. Immediately Voldemort accio-ed them. Then he cast a spell to prevent her from getting them back and Hermione scowled. If he had seen her use her second wand during their altercation at the Ministry of Magic, she had never done any wandless magic in front of him, she was sure of that... but of course Voldemort would be paranoid, and rightly this time.

"Crucio," Voldemort cast almost lazily.

The curse hit her in the chest and Hermione collapsed to the floor. The pain was excruciating, the curse replacing the blood in her veins with liquid fire. She tried not to scream, but she only remained silent a few seconds. There was nothing worse than the Cruciatus Curse, tearing apart her nervous system. She felt like she was burning. Like she was skinned alive. Like she was torn apart. Like she was dying again and again.

When the curse was finally lifted, she struggled to straighten up, even more furious than before.

"I had been quite a long time I wanted to do that," Voldemort mused.

She could almost understand him. After all, she too had long wanted to send him a Cruciatus. Especially now. Instead, she glared at him, and got up with the help of an armchair near her.

"Wonderful, are you satisfied now?" she asked bitterly.

Why were the most talented people always sick bastards? Why had this man, undoubtedly the most powerful wizard Hermione had ever met, decided that his talents would be better used to kill others instead of helping them? How can someone so knowledgeable be so selfish and un-reliable?

"Not really, no," Voldemort said. "Not yet."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Absolutely terrific. She had really dreamed of spending her morning being tortured by Lord Voldemort.

"Well, go ahead then," she invited with a mock curtsy.

The corner of Voldemort's lips raised slightly after her remark. Then a vial swiftly appeared in his left hand, and he levitated it towards her. A vial filled with a transparent liquid. Hermione felt both relieved – it was not like she was enjoying the Cruciatus Curse – and frightened. There was a small chance, of course, for it to be classic Véritaserum, to which she could slightly resist, but she was pretty confident Voldemort would not have been satisfied with Véritaserum. No, it would undoubtedly be a more harmful modified version.

She grabbed the vial when it was in front of her and uncorked it, before carefully inhaling the smell. Aconite, essence of belladonna, rose roots and a small note that reminded her of potions with Acromantula venom. Hermione felt her hand shake slightly. Not only was she going to spit everything she knew, but she was also pretty sure that if the interrogation lasted too long she would be poisoned irremediably. And it would not be a pleasant death. If she died like that, she swore herself that she would come back to haunt Harry for his stupid going-back-in-time ideas. Or Voldemort for generally being a pain in the arse. Or both of them.

"Drink," Voldemort ordered. "You do not want to know what I can do your dear Muggle parents."

He was right. She did not want to know that. In her first life her parents had seen nor known nothing of the war. Even after everything had been long finished. She would not forgive herself if anything happened to them now. Throwing a last glare at Voldemort, she swallowed the potion in one gulp.

Unlike the normal Véritaserum which had no taste, it was as cold as ice and had a particularly unpleasant acidic aftertaste. Probably due to the Acromantula venom. Unless he had actually used Nagini's venom to make that potion?

"So, your first question?" Hermione asked defiantly.

She was already thinking about how she could get out of this situation. A wandless Stupefy was within her reach, but Voldemort would block it easily. Likewise, she could cast an Accio on her parents to bring them back to her, and use her emergency Portkey to get out of here. But she would not be able to do that fast enough to prevent Voldemort from stopping her.

"What is your name?"

She felt the potion push her to respond quickly, a dull pain spreading in her body as she tried to resist to stall for time.

"Hermione Jean Granger," she answered.

She wondered distractedly whether, if she had not divorced Ron, she would have announced Hermione Jean Weasley, which would have been a disaster. Voldemort looked displeased, and Hermione smirked. Everything that made him unhappy was improving her mood.

"Why are you looking for information about magical sources?"

Hermione kept a blank expression. The question itself was not yet dangerous, but it could lead to many questions that would be...

"Because there are risks of instability that we want to prevent," she said.

She was answering as succinctly as she could, not wanting to give him any more information than strictly necessary.

"Explains risk of instability," Voldemort demanded, puzzled.

"Instability is the lack of stability, the state of things that are not stable," Hermione recited with a sneer.

Voldemort's glare was caring death threats. In her first life it would have made Hermione shake with fear, but now she was almost tempted to answer with a mocking curtsey. She restrained herself however, not wanting to trigger his ire while the situation was so delicate.

"Explain risk of instability in the context of magical sources," Voldemort clarified in a cold voice.

His grip around his wand had tightened, and he was still pointing it at her mother.

"You do know that the magic inside a source is supposed to loop on itself. A magical source is considered unstable when its magical flow do not loop perfectly anymore."

What could she do? How could she distract Voldemort long enough to get her parents back? A fire would not work here, everything had to be protected from it.

"What happens if a source is unstable?"

"It triggers magical eruptions that are becoming more and more violent."

The potion in her veins was pushing her to complete her answer, to add as much information as she could, burning her veins as she resisted.

"Isn't it impossible for a magical source not to loop?"

"No, it isn't."

"How can you be so sure of it?"

Hermione struggled as much as she could, the pain becoming unbearable as the potion forced her to answer unless she wished her head to explode from the pain. She held for a few seconds, then her tongue seemed to move of its own volition.

"I saw it," she spilled.

The discussion was becoming dangerously slippery. She had to find some way to get out of it. Quickly.

"When?" Voldemort asked dangerously.

Hermione bit her tongue violently. Apparate near him to steal his wand? But there was no chance in hell she could Apparate inside his castle, he would have had wards preventing this...

"Many years ago," she answered unwillingly.

She had avoided giving the exact number. And saying "_in_ many years". But she knew that her luck was not going to last. Maybe if she destroyed the ceiling, he would be distracted long enough for her to throw herself on her parents and get them out with her portkey?

"How many years ago?" Voldemort asked with an obvious touch of exasperation in front of her lack of cooperation.

"13 years ago," Hermione answered.

It was the latest she had seen the magical source eruptions. On the last day of her old life. Which corresponded if he did the math to a two-years-old Hermione. Voldemort's gaze became more piercing, and he opened his mouth again.

A huge noise interrupted him as all the windows broke suddenly, and Voldemort moved so fast behind her that he should have Apparated. Hermione felt the tip of his wand sink painfully into her neck. The next moment Harry, Ron and Ginny appeared in the room. They were wearing their usual glamours, et Hermione only now realised that she had not even casted hers in her haste.

At the end of Ron's wand was hovering Nagini, visibly unconscious. Ginny had her wand pointed at Voldemort, a fierce look on her face, but what surprised Hermione the most was Harry. In his hands he had the Sword of Gryffindor and he held it only a few millimetres away from Nagini's neck. It was brilliant. Voldemort did not know of course that the sword had been soaked in Basilisk venom and was actually able to kill both his Horcrux and his snake. But Hermione was pretty sure that Voldemort had not delved extensively enough into the theory of Horcruxes destruction to know that simply slicing the head of Nagini was not enough to destroy his soul.

The silence in the room was charged with tension. Harry looked at her questioningly, and Hermione nodded slightly to indicate that she was fine, and that they had come fast enough.

"Do you really think that a mere pet can be used for bargaining?" Voldemort drawled with disdain.

Hermione felt the modified Véritaserum push her answer, but the question was not directly addressed to her and she fortunately managed to keep her mouth shut. From the corner of her eyes she watched Voldemort's face, currently far too close to hers for her comfort, trying to read his emotions. Without any success.

"You cherish nothing more than Nagini," Harry replied with serene confidence. "And if you do not give us back Hermione and her parents, dear Nagini will lose her head."

There was no immediate answer from Voldemort, as he was probably assessing Harry's resolve. But there could be only one decision. Nagini was a Horcrux. A piece of his soul. His desire to know their secrets was certainly not worth a Horcrux.

"My wands," Hermione demanded after a few seconds.

She held out her right hand resolutely, her eyes narrowed to try to reduce the migraine that his dreadful potion was beginning to provoke.

"And the antidote to the potion," she added.

The silence stretched for a few seconds, before Harry lowered the sword closer to Nagini's skin, slightly drawing blood. The snake waked up then, hissing in evident pain. Voldemort abruptly moved away from Hermione, and threw her wands at her, as well as a bottle of potion that she barely managed to catch.

"Take your parents and get out of here immediately," Voldemort ordered icily.

He looked furious, and Hermione hurried to levitate her parents to her, before grabbing Ginny's hand. Ron let Nagini fall on the ground, and all four of them Apparated away, Hermione side-along Apparating her parents.

oOoOoOo

As soon as they had all vanished, Lord Voldemort's rage blew all the furniture around him so thoroughly that only dust remained, before cancelling the curse that was still restraining Nagini's movements. The snake immediately darted towards him, still hissing furiously.

"Master!" Nagini was fuming. "They have me attacked me, master!"

He paid her little attention. He was absolutely furious. He had only manged to get too few answers out of the Mudblood. And most of those did not even make sense. This nonsense with the magical sources was starting to irritate him to no end. It was impossible for the magical flow inside to deviate from its original path, impossible to use it in any other way. And he did not even had the time to force her to reveal who they really were.

Hermione Granger was starting to be a real inconvenience. And the others too. How had they managed to recover the Sword of Gryffindor under Dumbledore's nose? How had they managed to bypass Slytherin Castle's wards? It should not have been possible! They were dangerous. Probably as dangerous as he himself was. And he hated that.

"...I've never been so disrespected before," Nagini was still complaining. "To be attacked from behind! By a speaker!"

"What?" Lord Voldemort snapped. "What did you just say Nagini?"

"I've been attacked from behind. By a traitorous speaker!"

Another Parselmouth? No. That could not be.

"Which one?" he asked.

"The brownish one, master," Nagini answered. "I want revenge, master!"

But Voldemort was not listening to Nagini anymore. Of course the Parselmouth would be Hadrian, or rather Harry Potter. It could not be the Mudblood, nor any of the Weasleys… this blood traitors family was barely even magical anymore. Could it be that, perhaps, one of Potter's ancestors was Salazar Slytherin without it being known? Or maybe another famous Parselmouth? A trait that would have remained buried in the bloodline of the Potters for hundreds of years and would only come out now? A feature that could also explain how they had managed to destroy his wards around the castle when they should have been insurmountable.

These children were not normal, it had been some time he had been aware of that, but now it was getting out of control. And besides, how had they managed to find Nagini? He had sent the snake to do some exploration in the forbidden forest the past days… But it was true that the forest was close to Hogwarts.

Lord Voldemort stopped suddenly. Could they know about his Horcruxes? But it was absurd. Nobody knew about his Horcruxes. He had concealed all the hints, all the books talking about the subject. And he had only created the one inside Nagini recently. No, no one could know for his Horcruxes. Not even them.

Suddenly it reminded him that he still had not found what ritual they had used to bring him back, even though for the moment he seemed in better shape than ever before, but there could still be some drawback he needed to be aware of. He was quite sure that they had used the Philosopher's Stone's elixir to get him back, but there were dozens of different ways it could be used, and as many different side effects. He should absolutely look into it when he would have managed to introduce a new persona in the Ministry.

And as of Potter, the Mudblood, and their two redheaded acolytes, he would get answers. He may wish to kill them all painfully, but if he needed to be more adaptable to have answers he would. And he would wait for the opportunity to stab them in their back.

oOoOoOo

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked.

They had just dropped her parents at home, erasing their memory so that they could continue their life as if nothing had happened. This time Harry, Ron and Ginny had all helped to setup the wards around her home and her parents. Hermione still refused to risk to irreparably damage their minds by modifying more profoundly their memories so they could restart their lives elsewhere. And if she was the wards mastermind, she could not deny that Harry's brute power was more than welcome to ensure that this time, Voldemort would not be able to get to them discreetly.

"Do what?" Ginny asked.

"Find Nagini. Pass Voldemort's wards."

"Your bracelet," Harry answered slightly too quickly. "It's magically connected to your notebook, which is connected to ours."

Hermione looked at him dubiously. It was possible to follow the magical trace of an object, true, but it was very complex. Several days of work complex. Harry ran his hand through his hair and Hermione's gaze became suspicious. A Harry running his hand through his hair was a nervous Harry. And a nervous Harry was afraid to admit that he had done something incommensurately stupid.

"Harry?" she probed.

"It's the Horcrux," Harry admitted with a sight. "Sutta's laws gave me an idea. You know, regarding the links with astral projections..."

Hermione was livid.

"Harry, please don't tell me that you did a ritual to reinforce the connection between your Horcrux and Voldemort."

She looked at Harry, Ginny, and Ron, and none of them seemed apologetic.

"You're an idiot Harry. No, all of you are idiots," Hermione said before suddenly stopping. "Wait... It should take at least an hour to perform this kind of ritual. You haven't done this today!"

"We did it after Voldemort came for the first task," Harry confessed. "I wanted to be able to monitor Voldemort's actions again. And Nagini's."

Hermione sighed. She did not like that. Not in the least. But she could not deny that it had been quite useful to save her parents. She could not deny that her friends had been wonderful. She knew without even asking that it was Ron who had coordinated their action, thinking about threatening Nagini's life with the Sword of Gryffondor, and that Ginny would have been the one to steal the sword and damage the wards around the castle as much as possible. And Harry... Merlin, it was no surprise that he was the one designated by the prophecy. It was incredible to manage to forcibly Apparate inside the castle, even with the connection from the Horcrux, even with the ward already damaged by Ginny. His raw power almost rivalled Voldemort's.

"You'll have to be careful with this connection Harry," Hermione finally said. "If you've increased your perception of Voldemort, the connection is also more powerful from his side, and he shall not be made aware of it."

"I know Hermione. And don't worry , I'll be cautious," Harry promised.

Somehow, it did not really make Hermione feel better.

oOoOoOo

_Miss Granger,_

_Please rest assured that today's unfortunate situation will not happen again._

_If you are still looking for information about Njörd, you may be interested in the knowledge that his cult was quite popular in the Nordland county, in Norway, during the founders lifetime._

_LV_

Hermione looked at the formal letter with puzzlement as it vanished, before sharing the contents with her friends.

"So he decided to switch strategies," Ron said. "He'll try to lull us into a false sense of… security, or collaboration. And then he'll stab us in the back."

"That's pretty obvious. And this obviousness is probably even part of his strategy to have us playing along," Hermione agreed. "Because this Nordland hint is very interesting."

"It's dangerous Hermione," Harry started.

"No kidding," Hermione deadpanned.

"Really Hermione…" Harry drawled with evident frustration. "Don't go there. It's probably a trap."

There were only two weeks left before Christmas, and too many things to do. Harry was desperately looking for another way to get rid of the Horcrux or to contact Death. Ginny was trying to break the unbreakable vow that bound them to Voldemort. And Ron was following with even more suspicion everything that was happening in the national and international political circles.

Hermione was the only one who still had the time – and the skills – to focus on the magical sources.

"It's probably not a trap. Too obvious. And he is probably wary of frontal attacks now. I'll go tonight," Hermione decided.

"If he does anything to you, I swear I won't care about the consequences and simply get the Elder Wand to destroy him," Harry grumbled.

Hermione smiled slightly.

"Since it was in my defence, I'm going to pretend that wasn't a very stupid idea," Hermione said.

"Excuse me?" Harry seemed outraged.

"What do you think may happen if you duel Voldemort with the Elder Wand and he manages to disarm you?" Ron explained. "Do you really want to have Voldemort mastering the most powerful wand in the world?"

Harry did not speak to any of them during the remaining of the breakfast, and even deliberately left the discretion charms weaved around them to discuss their Herbology homework with Neville.

oOoOoOo

The same evening, Hermione was standing on top of a cliff in Norway, in the middle of fjords, an aurora borealis shinning above her. The landscape was breath-taking, dimly lit by the green lights of the aurora borealis, and Hermione remained stunned for a moment with wonder.

Then she materialized a map with a quick hand movement, and looked at it thoughtfully. Nordland was a good start, but the area was still huge. Should she rather search the wizarding places or the Muggle ones? Should she start with the Lofoten Archipelago or the Vesterålen Archipelago? And some of the old places may also have been totally deserted today, making them even more difficult to find.

Njörd was a god of the seas, winds, and fishing. But the whole Nordland county was dedicated to the sea… Hermione twirled her wand, lost in her thoughts for a few seconds, before making a decision. She would start with wizarding places. There were only six of them, so at least it would be done fast.

oOoOoOo

"Hermione?" Ginny asked. "Is everything ok?"

Hermione noticed that she was smashing the toast she had in her plate to a pulp. With a sigh, she handed to Ginny the short handwritten note she had found the prior evening at an old ritualistic site.

_"Did you really think that there would have been so few information about Njörd in English books if this place had anything to do with the god?"_

"Wait, Voldemort left you a note? A sarcastic note?" Ginny commented incredulously.

Hermione just grunted. Of course it would have been too easy if this site had anything to do with Njörd. But she still had to check. And since when Voldemort was sufficiently interested in the subject to himself look for hints in Norway? What was he expecting to get from Njörd?

"There is no way you will go in Norway again if he is also wandering there!" Harry said.

"I will go back and nothing you can say will change my mind," Hermione replied. "It's unlikely that we will meet at the same place at the same time, I have an emergency Portkey that should get me out of there if I met him, and I doubt Voldemort will try again to capture me after seeing how you had destroyed Slytherin Castle's wards."

Harry seemed quite unhappy, and Hermione leaned gently towards him.

"Don't worry, I'll be cautious," she promised.

Somehow, it did not really seem to make him feel better.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


	19. Chapter 18

Hi everyone!

Here's the new chapter :)

Have a nice day,

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

**Chapter 18 - December 1994 **

Hermione warily looked over the edge of the cliff at the sea brushing against the rocks. It was the weekend, the last one before the Christmas holidays, and for the first time she was able to see the Nordland county landscape during daylight. Or as much daylight as there could be at the zenith on the 19th of December only a hundred of kilometres south of the arctic circle. Meaning not very much. And not for long.

Tearing off her gaze from the waves, Hermione looked at the large stones at her feet. They were perfect for the ritual she wanted to perform. She just needed to take care of one small detail before that…

"Hands up!" someone behind her ordered with a Nordic accent.

Hermione sighed, before pivoting in a fluid motion. A fraction of a second later her two attackers were disarmed and immobilized, their faces showing their bafflement.

"Only two of you?" she said, looking at the two men in official robes. "It's almost insulting, even if it makes things easier."

But their presence proved that the Norwegian government was at least more efficient to monitor its borders that the British Ministry of Magic, as her multiples travels in the past week had obviously been detected. Hers, or Voldemort's.

Hermione lost no more time and intoned the incantation of a complex memory charm. The two Norwegian aurors paled drastically, but soon enough their eyes glazed and their bodies relaxed. Hermione hesitated slightly, pausing her spell to decide what to make them believe, before resuming it with increased concentration.

Once it was done, she disillusioned herself and revived the two men. They stood up with a haggard expression, before Apparating away. A satisfied smile stretched Hermione's lips. Now she would be able to finally began her ritual.

For a week she had been criss-crossing the Nordland county overnight, searching for the slightest magical trace that could put her on a trail. And Voldemort had also seemed to be actively searching for information about Njörd, even if she had never seen him.

But he had left nasty curses in most of the places she had visited, usually of the explosive sort. She knew he was doing this only to taunt her, to show her that he had visited the place before her. But it was still frustrating her to no end to have someone somehow managing to be ahead of her in one of her favourite discipline, magical knowledge seeking. Hence she had been as petty as him when she was the one to visit a place first, leaving her own curses over the place.

Now she was pretty sure that she could manage to get ahead of Voldemort. She had noticed that the various places of worship were situated in very specific places, and that having all of them on a map would enable her to find a central temple. And she would find it before Voldemort. The ritual she was going to execute would track similar magical emanations as the ones she had noticed in the places she had already visited, and hence reveal all Njörd places of worship, even those she had not yet been able to visit in person.

oOoOoOo

Lord Voldemort pensively tapped the History of the Wizengamot Sessions grimoire he was reading. Now that he had been forced to remove his Edward Gray persona, he had to find a new way to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic. A more discreet way, which would not attract his four enemies attention until it would be too late. He already had his Death Eaters working there for him, of course, but if one wanted something done right, one always needed to do it himself in the end.

It seemed he could not use dead people, as those tended to reaper unexpectedly out of nowhere. Did they know all wizarding families as well as the Gray one? Or had it just been a coincidence? And if a totally new name appeared on the Ministry official records, would they be able to know that it was him? The wizarding community was small. Not enough to know everyone, true, but it was quite impossible to be totally anonymous for talented wizards.

He would need to ensure that no information about him would be published until the right moment. He would have to navigate circles that would not be suspicious for Potter, Granger and the Weasleys. And he would have to make sure that the persons he would met at the Ministry would not speak about him either, or only in a very controlled way. It would not be easy, it would slow down his agenda, but it was not impossible. Not for him.

His thoughts centred on his four enemies. He still could not believe that they were managing to be such a nuisance. For long he had thought that they were just a mere thorn in his foot: pesky, but not really a threat. But the more he interacted with them, the less he was sure he could easily get rid of them.

Harry Potter had a raw magical power that, if it could not compete with his own, was definitely going to be a problem. And if Hermione Granger was not of the same calibre in terms of raw magical power, she was even more of a threat than Potter. She knew too much about magic, about its intrinsic functioning, about its subtleties. The destruction of the wards she had cast around her parents' house had been the most fascinating challenge Lord Voldemort had encountered for a long time. How a simple Mudblood could be so intriguing was a mystery. As for the two Weasleys, Lord Voldemort not yet had a clear idea about their strengths, but they would not be with Potter and Granger if they were just random wizards, he was sure of that.

No, he could no longer afford to underestimate them. He would continue to observe and study them. Until he would know exactly where to hit. Nobody got in the way of Lord Voldemort without paying the consequences.

oOoOoOo

The freezing wind of this Saturday night hardly affected Albus Dumbledore, who was watching the shack from a hill a few hundred yards away. The headmaster was standing very still, but his thoughts were quite agitated.

He had come to Little Hangleton in hope he could find any information about Voldemort that would help him. But the Gaunts' old house was unfortunately not helpful at all. There was nothing around it, no trace of magic. Nothing like the impressive wards around Riddle Manor. No trace of human life either, Morfin having died years ago in Azkaban, wrongly accused of the crime committed by his nephew. Hence, aside from the reminder of Tom's parricide and the fact that Tom had probably stolen the Gaunt ring in the process, it was not an helpful trip.

Albus frowned. He felt overwhelmed by the situation. Voldemort was not acting like he had during the first war. It had been six months since he had come back and nothing had happened. No mysterious murder. No unexplained disappearance. No attack. And, to Albus' surprise, Voldemort had not even tried to stole the prophecy linking him to Harry. The only thing that Albus Dumbledore knew of Voldemort's actions was what he had asked of Severus, but it was only a few potions, nothing out of the ordinary.

Albus turned away from the shack and began to walk to the nearest grove of trees to discreetly Apparate away. His thoughts focussed on Hogwarts. On Harry. And he suddenly felt very old. Harry's training, though necessary, made his heart ache. Harry was a gifted young wizard, an incredible one even, from what he had seen of his duelling lessons with him or from when he had observed him training the other students. But Harry was still no match for Voldemort. He was still only a kid.

And Albus dreaded the day he would have to tell Harry there was a prophecy about him and Voldemort. He almost wanted to ignore the prophecy and go face Voldemort himself. But he could not afford it. Not if there was the slightest risk that Voldemort could become the master of the elder wand.

oOoOoOo

"Lumos," Hermione murmured.

Before casting a spell to warm her freezing body. If the weather had been mild near the sea, it was not the case inland. Especially in this enclosed valley.

She would have rather spent her Sunday near a chimney fire. Whether in the Gryffindor common room or in the Room of Requirement. But she finally knew where Njörd's main temple was. And she could not let Voldemort get there before her. If he did, she would have no other choice than to really start admiring his magical prowess, and that would be unacceptable.

Hermione glanced around her. Everything seemed calm. The whole place was devoid of life, lost in the middle of nowhere, and seemed perfectly empty. But she was sure the temple should be here. Carefully, she advanced until she was in the middle of the valley, four mountains surrounding her.

The sky was pitch dark as it was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and no aurora borealis was guiding her steps this time. Hermione extended her Lumos, until it illuminated a wooden arch. She approached cautiously, wanting to decipher what was written on the ark. It was old Norse language, of course, but a quick translation spell unveiled the message.

"_Only the most worthy may enter the path._"

A paved path appeared gradually behind the arch. It was old magic, ancient and powerful. Enchantments that had existed for centuries, maybe even a millennia. A smile stretched Hermione's lips. There was no doubt that the road would be full of pitfalls, but if there was one thing Hermione liked, it was an interesting challenge.

Three hours later Hermione was finally at the top of one of the mountains. Her cloak was torn, and her hair was more bushy than usual even though she was in Helen's form, but in front of her stood a wooden and stone temple. Despite the clear path and the carved steps, the ascent had been perilous. The wizards who had enchanted this place had obviously taken to heart the fact that Njörd was the god of winds and seas. Without taking to heart the fact that Njörd was a Muggle god, as the winds and ice she had confronted were obviously not natural...

Hermione entered the temple with reverence. The first room was an antechamber, and she noticed several books on shelves. It was the first time she had found anything at one of Njörd's places of worship, and she was nearly overwhelmed with eagerness.

Then, there was a sudden noise in the temple, and Hermione jumped, her wand pointed towards one of the walls behind which the sound seemed to be coming from. But again everything was silent, and with an ample gesture Hermione gathered all the books from the shelves in her beaded bag. Then she made the door to the temple's next room open, and quickly glanced inside before hiding behind the antechamber's wall.

It was obviously the main room, and there was no one there. Gripping her wand tighter, Hermione pushed away from the wall, and looked through the door again. She instantly froze. At the exact opposite of her, in the doorway in every way like hers, in a position very similar to her own, was Voldemort.

They remained frozen for a split second, both quite surprised and dissatisfied with each other's appearance.

"How did you get there?" Hermione finally asked dejectedly.

There was only one way to get to the temple, the one she had herself taken, and she was sure she had been alone.

"I flew there," Voldemort answered with a haughty smile.

Hermione held back a shudder. Flying in winds as strong as the ones around the temple should have been simply impossible. No one could have had such an incredible grasp on one's magic.

"That noise was you then? Have you crashed on the temple while trying to land or what?" she asked.

Voldemort rolled his eyes, an exasperated gesture that seemed quite out of place on his usually perfectly controlled aristocratic face.

"Of course not," he denied.

But he gave no further justification to the noise and a smile stretched Hermione's lips. She would have liked to see it, the mighty Lord Voldemort crashing into the temple… After having accomplished an impossible feat, true, but the idea of him crashing was still quite satisfying.

"It's empty," Voldemort commented, gesturing at the room.

Hermione glanced around and indeed, unlike the antechamber, the main room was completely bare.

"A shame I have already collected all the books in the room right next to it then," Hermione gloated.

"Really? What if the information you seek is in fact in the books I have myself collected from the other antechamber?" Voldemort countered with a sardonic smile.

Hermione slightly moved her wand, pondering if she should attack him, but he disappeared before she even had the time to think about an appropriate spell.

oOoOoOo

"Ah, took him long enough..." Ron suddenly drawled.

Hermione turned swiftly and noticed Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini standing in the doorway.

"You're so popular Ronnikins!" George said.

Or perhaps it was Fred.

"Even Malfoy Junior is now coming to your little club!" Fred finished. Or perhaps it was George.

Ron rolled his eyes at the twins' antics, as Hermione watched Blaise and Draco finally enter the classroom they were using for the D.A. She had to admit that Draco had been more subtle than what she had expected. Since the beginning of the year he had gradually reduced his insults, without it seeming as if it was forced, and he had not immediately joined the D.A., waiting to be dragged there by Theodore, Blaise and Daphne, who were among the usuals – mostly for academic reasons. Daphne was even on speaking terms with them, especially Ron.

But Draco's subtle efforts were in vain anyway, as Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny could compare his current behaviour with his behaviour during their first life, and thus know that he was not getting closer to them of his own volition. Still, it was not really a bad thing to have Draco close to them. They could perhaps protect him, and perhaps even fed false information to Voldemort.

"Well, shall we start?" Harry said as if the whole room was not looking at Draco Malfoy.

"Can we learn the Patronus charm?" Luna asked, the only other one that seemed not really shocked by Draco's presence.

Harry glanced at Hermione, who shrugged. Most of the people in this room were too young to be able to produce one. But at the same time, it was a particularly useful spell if Voldemort took control of the Dementors, which he would necessarily do at one time or another.

"That's a great idea," Harry told Luna. "But let me warn you, it is not an easy charm to learn."

That did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the D.A. members.

"I can give you a hand in teaching if you want," Cedric proposed. "We have just finished working on it."

Cedric Diggory had joined the D.A. after Harry had hinted him the dragons for the first task of the tournament, and he had brought in his wake not only Cho, but also some other Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students from the upper years.

"You could," Harry replied. "But I would rather teach you how to use a Patronus to send a message."

"One can do that?" Cedric wondered.

Cedric had mostly join the D.A. to help them teach initially, but Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had used this opportunity to teach the upper years more advanced charm. Taking advantage of Harry's Boy-Who-Lived fame to somehow explain their too advanced knowledge.

"Aurors use it," Harry shrugged.

"Impressive!" Cedric commented. "I really think you should have been the school champion instead of me Harry, you would have been a far better one!"

Harry paled drastically and Hermione dragged Cedric away, pretending she needed his help to setup the room, while Ginny was trying not to giggle too loudly at Harry horrified expression.

oOoOoOo

When a jet black owl approached her, Hermione smirked. So she had been right. She may not have found complete information about Njörd on her side, but neither did he. Well well, it was always nice to know Voldemort was getting nowhere either.

"Why do you look as happy as if you had just passed twenty N.E.W.T.s?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Hermione did not answer him and grabbed the letter the bird somehow managed to disdainfully threw at her.

_Granger,_

_My castle, December 26th._

_LV_

Hermione's smile flattered slightly. She was pleased to know that he had probably been pretty annoyed when he had finally understood that he needed her part of the books to progress, but she had not thought any further. She had not thought that, of course, she would need to see him again if she herself wanted to progress.

_Voldemort,_

_I want a vow._

_H_

"You're not serious Hermione!" Harry shouted as he read over her shoulder. "You're not going there again!"

"I need the information he has," Hermione replied matter-of-factly.

"We should go with you," Harry proposed.

Hermione sighed and wanted to answer but Ginny cut in.

"Stop Harry," Ginny said. "You're making things even more difficult for Hermione. You know very well that we cannot go with her. Our parents and Sirius expect us for Christmas, and only Hermione can use her Muggle relatives as an excuse for not being present without anyone knowing better."

"And on top of that, you already have enough on your plate with finding ways to get rid of your Horcrux, Harry," Hermione completed.

Harry look disgruntled, but did not argue further.

"I don't like having Voldemort looking into Njörd," Ron confessed. "It could lead him to look for the founders' relics, and discover his Horcruxes are missing."

"It won't lead him to the relics," Hermione answered confidently. "Only one book mentions the link between the two, and it's the one that is in Vatican City. He does not even know it exists."

It seemed to reassure Ron, and her friend started to discuss how to best word the vow to protect Hermione.

oOoOoOo

When they met each other at the bottom of the dormitories stairs they exchanged a complicit glance. This time they were all closely united, nobody was mad at someone else, and none of them was a champion.

"You look beautiful girls," Harry said.

"Magnificent if I may add!" Ron built on.

Hermione and Ginny laughed softly. Ginny was going to the ball with Harry of course. As for Hermione and Ron, they were going together, not as a couple, but as a two friends not wanting to spend the whole evening dancing with teenagers.

To her astonishment Hermione had to decline several invitations from various boys, the D.A. – and her lessened know-it-all attitude – having made her more popular than she had been the first time around. Not from Viktor though. As she had always been with Harry, Ron and Ginny, she did not have many opportunities to talk to the Bulgarian seeker, even if he had still sought her out two or three times, warming Hermione's heart. Viktor had always been a good friend after the war.

Harry and Ron stretched out their arms gallantly and the girls took them.

"You're going down to the main hall too Neville?" Harry asked their friend as he was also in Gryffindor's common room.

"Yes, I'm meeting Luna there," Neville answered.

"Great. Dean? Seamus?" Ron asked.

"We'll wait Lavender and Parvati here, go ahead," Seamus said.

They nodded and walked out of the Gryffindor's common room.

"I hope Parvati will have more fun than the last time," Harry whispered in Hermione's ear.

"Shouldn't be too complicated," Hermione answered in a slightly mocking tone.

She was determined to enjoy the ball. They had agreed on the terms of the vow for her to go back to Slytherin Castle over the holidays, and had sworn the vow the previous day. It meant that tomorrow, as soon as she would be out of the Hogwarts Express, instead of going with Harry, Ron and Ginny to the Burrow she would go to Voldemort.

oOoOoOo

When Hermione Apparated in the main hall of Slytherin Castle, Voldemort was regally waiting for her, as always dressed as if he had just conquered the whole world and it was coronation time.

"You're late," he said icily.

"The crowd was slightly too hectic on Platform 9 3/4," Hermione shrugged.

If she had known that he would wait for her, she would have made him wait a little longer. Just to piss him off a little more.

"Will we work in the library?" Hermione asked.

"No, it will be more convenient in my study," Voldemort answered.

He motioned for her to follow him and she complied. They walked in the utmost silence. A silence that was not tense though. They were enemies, and Hermione knew he was only waiting for the best time to strike, but for now she was protected by the vow. And she trusted Ron to have flawlessly worded it.

So her thoughts were already on what Voldemort could have found in the books he had gathered at the temple. Not enough to find by himself the second temple that was mentioned in her books it seemed, as he would not have needed her otherwise.

It was a shame that he had caught up on her at the first temple. Else, she would not have needed him at all. She also wondered for the umpteenth time why he was interested in Njörd. Just to hinder them? Or was he expecting to find something he could himself use?

She recognized Voldemort's study as soon as she stepped inside. It was there that he had held her parents captive and tortured her. Did he think that would be enough to make her feel uncomfortable? She had lived worse than a little Cruciatus curse, and her parents were now even safer than before.

Voldemort gestured towards few armchairs near a coffee table, and Hermione sat down at the same time as him. She was eager, perhaps more than she should have been. But somehow, she wanted to see by herself how Voldemort was managing to be such a genius. A psychopathic, terrifying, genius, but still.

"What have you found about Njörd on your side?" Voldemort asked.

"Why are you looking for Njörd?" Hermione countered. "What are you expecting to gain from it?"

Voldemort seemed thoughtful, but surprisingly decided to answer her.

"I confess myself curious. How powerful could this ritual of power be, for all the tracks to have been erased?"

Hermione frowned.

"ritual of power?" she asked. "How do you know that it is a ritual of power?"

"So you do not even know what you're looking for?" Voldemort smirked disdainfully. "But of course..."

He wandlessly sent a book towards her, and Hermione had barely the time to read the title, "Rites and Rituals from Mephistopheles", before it opened to the page with the quote of Njörd. Voldemort lazily pointed to the title of the chapter, written at the top of the page.

"_Nordic Rituals of Power_ "

"But of course…" Hermione mumbled.

The title was attractive enough to interest Voldemort. As if he needed to increase even more his power…

"What have you found from the temple's books?" Voldemort asked.

"The certainty of the existence of a second temple, and too few geographic information," Hermione provided. "And you?"

"Essentially the same thing."

A map suddenly appeared in front of her and Hermione nearly jumped, but quickly recovered and leaned over to look at it. It was the Nordland region. Various parts were carefully crossed out, while others were highlighted.

"I should have thought about doing the same thing…" Hermione murmured to herself. "But the texts were not always clear on the number of remaining temples..."

"Two," Voldemort said. "There are three temples in total. And the indication we have found should lead us to the second one only."

"That makes sense..."

"Since you're less advanced, let me know when you will have added your own information on the map…"

Hermione did not answer his scornful remark, and started to complete the map. She worked until late that night, before leaving the Castle. This time they had made sure that she would be able to leave the castle easily, and she was glad she would be able to sleep peacefully in an abandoned country house that was belonging to the Potter family, that they had all warded extensively just in case.

Crookshanks curled up next to her as soon as she lay down, and the half-Kneazle soothing purring relaxed her enough to sleep well.

oOoOoOo

Harry remained lying in bed when he woke up in the middle of the morning on December 27th, and tried to empty his mind. Ron was obviously already up, and as the Burrow was now full of people, he had not dared the previous evening to go to Ginny's room to spend the night with his wife.

So none of his two friends would know about what he was going to do. He was not stupid, he knew it was dangerous. But he also knew how to be careful and undetectable when the situation required it. And above all, he wanted to make sure that Hermione was fine.

He delicately connected himself to the Horcrux in his mind, and from there he followed cautiously the thread that linked it to the mother-soul.

"Let's go," he heard Voldemort say.

Voldemort was standing in his study looking down at Hermione – or more exactly Helen –, who was lounged in one of the luxurious armchairs, a map in her hands.

"The area's too big," Hermione pointed out. "It might be better to..."

"The area is not too big," Voldemort cut in.

And Harry could feel the dark wizard's exasperation, as well as a hint of impatience.

"I'm going, and if you do not want to come, I'm going without you," Voldemort said.

"All right, I'm coming," Hermione answered. "But if you're wrong, we'll try my method next."

This time it was strangely amusement that Voldemort felt, slightly puzzling Harry. Hermione got up quickly, magically gathered all the documents in her bottomless bag, and moved closer to Voldemort without showing any fear.

"Are you going to Apparate directly over there?" Hermione asked.

Voldemort just nodded.

"It's not far from one of the Aurors' camp," Hermione indicated anxiously . "Isn't it better to land a little further away?"

"The Aurors are convinced that the magical disturbance we are creating when we Apparate there illegally is due to dragons' fights around Troms, and that their Magical Creatures Control department is taking care of that."

"I was pretty sure you would have killed the poor ones who would have tried to arrest you…" Hermione commented.

Harry mentally frowned. Hermione had never told him that she had met Aurors while she was in Norway.

"I would have then needed to memory charm the whole Norwegian aurors department not to have them regularly sending new aurors to investigate the disturbance and it's…"

"Impossible," Hermione completed.

"Too exhausting," Voldemort corrected. "So I killed only part of them, and let the others report the dragon incident to their managers."

Hermione's disapproval was clear on her face, and it seemed to make Voldemort even more amused to Harry's disgust. This Voldemort was perhaps less volatile than the one they had faced the first time around, but he obviously had as few morality as the other.

"What have you done with the aurors after you?" Voldemort asked.

"Memory charmed them. They believe the disturbances are coming from a colony of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and that it was better to leave them in peace."

"A colony of what?" Voldemort said with puzzled distaste.

"A colony of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," Hermione repeated. "They are found mostly in Sweden to be honest, but those aurors would have not known that."

Harry nearly burst out laughing, and he wondered how Hermione could stay serious while saying that. Voldemort's confusion only added to his hilarity, and he hurriedly exited his mind before his emotions would reveal his presence. He was still not happy that Hermione was with Voldemort, but at least she seemed to know what she was doing.

oOoOoOo

"Look out!" Hermione shouted.

Voldemort looked down on her as a huge wave of tumultuous water crashed on his shield. Still, despite his haughty look, Voldemort's shield seemed to shake slightly. If the elements had been destructive around the first temple, it was even worse around the second one.

Voldemort had found its location just a few minutes after they had arrived nearby, using series of complex spells that, to her utmost frustration, Hermione knew little about. And even if she had not said anything, she had been amazed at his ease.

"The wind is getting more aggressive," Voldemort commented.

It was an euphemism if there was one. From what Hermione could detect, the speed of the incoming gust was around five hundred kilometres per hour. It had already been several minutes since they had not managed to move further, and this gust was not going to help.

"I'll take care of it," Hermione said.

Voldemort looked at her sceptically, but she still raised her wand. She had always had a strong affinity with air. The vine wand warmed slightly in her hand, and Hermione breathed in all her magic. Her magic swirled around them, creating opposite currents that drove away the gust.

Voldemort intense look made Hermione feel uneasy, and she frowned questioningly at him. While maintaining its own charms freezing the lake around them, Voldemort stepped closer to her.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"You continue to take care of the winds. We're going to take a little shortcut."

Hermione paled as he drew closer.

"No, no. No way," she said.

But Voldemort was already behind her. She felt his arms curl around her waist, and the next second they were off the ground. She screamed as they went up at full speed.

"Put me down immediately!"

"Get a grip on your spells girl!" Voldemort ordered. "I cannot fly and protect us from the wind at the same time."

But that was not entirely true, because he was injecting his own magical power into her spell while she was too busy panicking.

"Granger!"

She knew he could fly. He had done so at the Battle of the Seven Potters, and he had said he had arrived by air when they had met at the first temple. But that did not stop Hermione from being aware that it should have been impossible. And to fly two people at the same time? While controlling the wind around them? Unthinkable.

"Hermione!"

Hermione finally snapped out of her panic and adapted her spells as the air became more turbulent around them. A few moment later they were flying through a corridor of perfectly stable air in the middle of violent storms.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.


End file.
